Put On Your War Paint
by ObliviousOwlet
Summary: It's been two years since the events in Las Edo, and crime rates are dropping. The Sukochi has not been forgotten, however, and neither have the people who were murdered. Will the Big Hero 7 be able to stop this new villain and his armies? Or is it finally the end?(Rated T for violence)(Part 2 of the Shattered AU)
1. I'd Do It All Again

_**[Hello, my dearest readers. It's been a while, hasn't it? I have finally finished with the first chapter of our newest addition to the Scorched AU(Because that is what I am calling this now). I'm looking forward to writing future chapters, so I hope you enjoy this newest installment!**_

 _ **Unlike a good amount of the chapters in my last story, this particular chapter does not have a playlist song(although I did consider 'Last Friday Night' just to see what your guys' reactions would be... Of course, that doesn't actually have a ton to do with this chapter. xD]**_

* * *

 _"And in the end_

 _I'd do it all again_

 _I think you're my best friend_

 _Don't you know that the kids aren't alright?"_

 _-The Kids Aren't Alright, by Fall Out Boy_

* * *

"I dunno, Tadashi. These seem pretty banged up."

"I'm aware of that, Hiro, I was wearing them."

"Just a thought—maybe next time you decide to jump off a building, have Baymax catch you instead of shifting into a thrust level these boots weren't designed for?"

Tadashi rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "I suppose I could, sure. But wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of rocket boots?"

In return, he received a glare from his little brother. "Rocket boots are meant for faster travel on land, not in the air. That's what Baymax is for, and that's why I made you a hoverboard."

"You've gotten so responsible lately, Hiro. It's sickening."

"Well, I did turn 17 last Monday. Maybe it's about time." Hiro threw his brother a look of triumph—not so small now, huh? "Which reminds me, you're 25. Act like it."

"I am, otouto."

"Then act like a superhero."

"I am. I'm sure you've heard of a few superheroes who act like this. In fact, I'd say that I bear a striking resemblance to Johnny Storm. This seems like the kind of thing he would do, doesn't it?"

Hiro raised a single eyebrow to heaven. "Johnny Storm?"

"Yeah..." Tadashi felt an evil smirk cross his expression. " _The Human Torch_."

"That joke was in bad taste and you know it, nii-chan."

"Well, I'll be honest, making jokes about it is so much easier than moping. Besides," the elder Hamada continued, his grin only growing larger. "I'd say we're both pretty _smoking hot_ , don't you think?"

"Wow."

"I know."

"That was terrible."

At this, Tadashi started cracking up, throwing his head back in laughter. "Your face, Hiro. You look absolutely mortified."

And so he did. The comment about his expression didn't alleviate the irritation, either. In fact, if anything, Hiro's expression only seemed to grow more agitated at this. "You could have died, Nii-chan."

"But I didn't."

"Look, I'm just saying that you need to be more careful with these." Hiro looked up again, then back down at the ruined thrusters, carefully twisting another pair into his brother's boot. "I can't replace them every time you want to go out on a joyride."

"Maybe you should use yours more often."

At this, the younger Hamada stopped, then quietly laid down his work and spun in his chairs, facing his older brother. "I do use mine, I just don't use them for jumping off of buildings for no reason whatsoever."

"I'll bet you barely pass 30 miles an hour. Heh, I'd probably pass you while cruising, even if you're at full speed."

Hiro's eyes lit up with some unrecognizable emotion. "Is that a challenge, Tadashi?"

"You can bet your helmet it is."

Hiro tilted his head, an evil smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe not my helmet, but..."

"Hm?"

"How about this: We have a race. The loser has to wear a duck costume to their next therapy appointment."

Tadashi let out a soft chuckle, imagining his therapist, Kyle, blinking in surprise as Tadashi waltzed into the office clad in a duck costume.

"Okay, but you don't go to therapy."

Hiro blinked, then came to a decision. "...We'll swing for a few pizzas afterwards on me?"

"The man drives a hard bargain," Tadashi replied, whistling appreciatively. "Deal."

* * *

"The rules are as follows: There are no rules."

The onlookers laughed loudly, causing GoGo to break into a grin. "In all seriousness, though, the race starts here at the university. You may take any road in order to get to the checkpoint—which would be Fred, down at the Fishing Wharf. You'll take a piece of paper from him saying that you were there, then you'll return here. The first man to hand his paper to me wins."

Tadashi glanced sideways at his brother, a grin flitting to his lips. "That will be me."

"In your dreams, nerd."

"Oh, and guys?" The brothers looked up at their team mate, who was holding the flag that would signal the start of the race.

"Yes, GoGo?"

"Please try not to run over any pedestrians. As funny as it would be to see you guys crash into someone, you are on rocket boots, and thus would likely cause serious bodily harm to said pedestrians."

"Yes, GoGo."

"However, walls take a hit considerably better than a person, so feel free to repeatedly ram your head into a wall."

"Maybe not my head," Hiro muttered, an evil glint in his eye.

"Yeah, if we hit his head against a wall, the poor building would collapse. His head's surprisingly thick. It might break the wall."

"Ha, ha."

"Ready?"

Immediately, the Hamada brothers slid into running positions, glaring at each other from the corners of their eyes.

"Set?"

And the rockets fired up.

 _"Go!"_

* * *

Tadashi swore under his breath as he swerved, barely missing yet another pedestrian.

"Having trouble, Nii-chan?"

The elder Hamada glared at his brother, who was dodging people with ease, used to traffic as he was.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I am. Maybe I'll come over there and use you as a plow."

"Aw, don't be like that. Maybe you should just take your helmet off—bet your face would scare everyone away."

A year ago, Tadashi would have winced, and gone very quiet while thinking about how things might have gone differently had he not run in to save his professor.

But this was not a year ago, and Tadashi was not the same man who had pointed a gun at the man he had once looked up to. The scars had since faded—not gone completely, in fact they still gained several stares, but he had grown accepting of the fact that he would never look the same as he once did.

His family accepted him, and that was enough.

"Says the man who can't get a date."

"I'm 17, and 5'7. I have an excuse. On the other hand," Hiro replied, smoothly moving to avoid a collision. "You're 6'4, and most certainly old enough to have a girlfriend."

"Maybe you should just focus on the race?"

"Why should I?" They finally cleared most of the buildings and now Hiro swerved, sand flying as he moved onto the beach, out of earshot and communicating by comlink. "It's not as if I'm behind you."

"You will be soon."

"Eat my dust, Dashi!"

This said, the younger Hamada turned, smiling as his brother began to catch up, and moved in such a way, almost twirling and flinging a large amount of sand into Tadashi's face.

"What the-?!" His older brother doubled over, coughing and spitting out dust as Hiro spun, rocketing forward.

* * *

"I'll take that."

Fred smiled at Hiro(although the young hero couldn't see it through the suit), and let him take the piece of paper from his hand. "Where's Tadashi?"

"Choking on sand."

"And how long have you been working on that maneuver?"

Hiro felt an evil grin creeping across his face, opting not to answer.

"Right then." Fred paused, then continued. "You're going to want to get back."

"I intend to," Hiro replied with a smile, spinning to race down the street, and collided with an orange wall.

 _"And just where do you think you're going, otouto?"_

Not a wall, then.

"Oh come on, 'Dashi. That's just cheating."

Tadashi allowed himself a smirk, dragging his brother along by one of his legs, kicking and screaming, as he retrieved his own piece of paper. "So is shoving sand down my throat."

"That was just a joke," Hiro wailed, doing his best to turn and kick one of Tadashi's legs out from under him. "Put me down!"

Fred was almost doubled over laughing now. "Deal with it, Hiro. You had this coming."

Suddenly Hiro grew very still, suddenly falling limp, and Tadashi shook his head, chuckling. "Really? Going boneless on me? Fine, makes this easier." Not waiting for a response, the elder Hamada threw his brother over his shoulder, easily carrying him over to the nearest stop sign, and paused as he realized he was in a more populated area.

 _Maybe I should do this somewhere-_

 ** _"Somebody help me!"_**

Tadashi almost dropped his brother, his scream was so loud.

"What the?!"

 _ **"Stranger danger! I do not know this man, he's kidnapping me!"**_

 _"I swear, Hiro-!"_

Exasperated, and looking around at the confused and concerned passerbys, he grabbed his brother by the shoulders and gently set him down.

Well, I say set him down, but in reality he left Hiro hanging by the back of the armor on his back, on top of the stop sign.

"You can't do this to me, nii-chan! I have rights!"

"You have the right to shut up," Tadashi growled before starting up his rockets again.

"Please?" Hiro reached up, taking off his helmet—not caring about the people who were doing their very best to ignore the brothers—and giving his brother the most pitiful look he had ever let cross his features.

And Tadashi almost reached out to put him back on the ground.

Almost.

"Sorry, otouto."

And suddenly, the wide-eyed, tearful, pleading expression was gone, replaced with a furious scowl. "You know, sometimes I seriously dislike you."

"Aw. Go cry me a river."

* * *

Tadashi could have been casually strolling down the street if he truly wanted to, but knowing better from the stories Aunt Cass had told him before that pressing your luck was never a good thing. Especially if your little brother is currently stranded on top of a stop sign and absolutely furious with you.

The university was finally in sight, the onlookers cheering, and he skidded to a halt as he came close to the finish line. University students whooped in excitement, clearing the way to the finish line, where a young woman in yellow armor was standing.

"Hey there, GoGo."

His team mate rolled her eyes. "You aren't going to cross?"

"Of course I am. I'll take my time, though, because our fearless leader is currently stuck on top of a stop sign."

He smiled at his friend, reaching into the compartment of armor that held his letter, giving her a wink.

And slowly, the smile dropped from his face.

"That piece of..."

"What?"

 _"He took my letter!"_

"Really, nii-chan? It took you this long to notice?"

Tadashi spun at the sound of his brother's voice—the same brother whom only minutes ago he had left on top of a sign.

"Hiro-!"

With his usual confident swagger, the younger Hamada stepped through the crowd, throwing several of them a cocky smile. Under the mortified glare of the orange figure in front of him, he stopped beside his brother, producing not one, but two letters stating that he had reached the Fishing Wharf and returned.

"I think you'll find that everything is in order... Which is more than I can say for this nerd."

"It's taking everything in me not to slap you right now."

GoGo looked over the pieces of paper and then, forcing back tears of laughter, took Hiro's hand and held it up.

"The winner!"

The crowd cheered, half of them laughing their heads off in the meantime.

"Now, what does Tadashi have to do?"

Hiro's grin grew wider at Tadashi's sullen expression. "He has to go to his next therapy session in a duck costume."

"How very fitting."

 _"Oh, why don't you two shut up?"_

* * *

 ** _[And there you have it, the first chapter. The next chapter is where the action gets started, so stay tuned!_**

 ** _Oblivious out! *throws self out of frame*]  
_**


	2. Covering My Ears Like a Kid

_**[Hello! I'm sorry, but I will probably not be as quick posting new chapters as I was in my last story. I am considering taking up another story in the meantime, so...  
**_

 _ **Anyways, here is the new chapter! The answers to your reviews are, as usual, at the bottom of the page.**_

 _ **And I know, the song doesn't EXACTLY fit the chapter, but I found the image funny. Anyways...**_

 _ **Enjoy!]**_

* * *

 _"I'm covering my ears like a kid_

 _When your words mean nothing, I go 'la la la'_

 _I'm turning up the volume when you speak_

 _'Cause if my heart can't stop it_

 _I'll find a way to block it."_

 _-La La La, by Naughty Boy_

* * *

"Hello again, Tadashi, I…. Um…"

"What's up, Kyle?"

The aforementioned therapist blinked in surprise, then slowly sat down. "...You're wearing a duck costume."

"Really?" Tadashi leaned back, trying to pretend that he wasn't paying much mind to the beak directly above his head, or the bright orange, enormous feet currently housing his own… well, foot. Most importantly, he was trying to play off cool the bright yellow, feathery pants that were really starting to ride up his-

"I'm assuming there's a reason for this?"

"A dumb bet I made with my brother," Tadashi mumbled, looking up and finding Kyle's face bright red with suppressed laughter. "Yeah, go ahead, let it out. I know I look ridiculous."

Taking the chance, the relatively young doctor leaned over, resting his head on the wooden desk and trying to muffle his choking laughter with his shirtsleeves. The elder Hamada leaned back in the meantime, letting him release the pent-up laughter before finally interrupting.

"Yeah, yeah, that's enough. You can stop laughing now."

"I'm sorry," Kyle gasped, tears of mirth sliding down his cheeks. "It's just… You have to be one of the most serious-looking people I've ever met. The scars don't really help. And the image of you in a fluffy, feathery duck suit just…"

"How my friend Fred just happened to have this lying around, I'll never know, but I do look ridiculous," Tadashi admitted. "You can thank Hiro for this. I should really know better than to gamble against him."

"Isn't he the one that used to be an expert in conning seasoned botfighters?"

"That'd be him."

"You're right," Kyle replied, laughing. "You shouldn't gamble against a con artist."

"Oh, he's not a con artist any more," the man in the duck suit corrected.

"Right."

"Now, he's an annoying stick in the mud who won't let me jump off of buildings."

* * *

"So, how did your therapy session go?"

The younger Hamada's eyes sparkled with a certain mischief, and Tadashi leaned over to completely destroy Hiro's hair.

"Gah! I spent a good two minutes trying to get that out of my face! Shame on you, Tadashi," Hiro almost wailed, pushing his brother's hand off his head.

"Awh. I'm almost sorry."

"No, you're not. In all seriousness, though, how did it go?"

Tadashi sighed and leaned back, a smirk playing across his lips. "Kyle gets the impression I'm suicidal."

Hiro blinked in surprise. "What gave him that impression?"

"I said something about you not letting me jump off of a building."

"I see. No, I don't. What?"

"Long story."

Hiro gave his brother a look-the one that Tadashi had affectionately named his 'Basilisk Stare', due to how it would occasionally cause an unsuspecting freshman who'd gotten on Hiro's bad side to freeze.

There was a single incident where someone had come into Hiro's lab looking for him, and been quite loud about it while he was doing work that required maximum precision.

He left a good five minutes later, visibly shaken, without the help that he had come looking for.

Funnily enough, when the camera footage was looked over to see the cause of said reaction, the only visible movement that could be seen was Hiro jumping at the sudden noise and completely messing up whatever he was doing.

Immediately, he turned and gave the freshman a cold, furious glare, and he stopped in his tracks, mouth opening and then closing, completely speechless. Satisfied with the results, Hiro returned to what he was doing to attempt to fix the broken device, while the freshman stood in silence, staring at the 16 year old until he finally regained his bearings and left as quickly as he possibly could.

No one knew what it was that made Hiro so terrifying when he gave someone that look, but the affected individuals resolved to be very quiet and respectful toward the younger Hamada from then on.

Tadashi, on the other hand, remained as irreverent and sarcastic as he ever was. While even GoGo-the woman who everyone silently agreed was the toughest among their numbers-would be affected by the glare at times(not to the point of white terror as a few of Hiro's other victims would experience, but at least taken aback by the cold stare), Tadashi and Aunt Cass were remarkably unaffected in any sense whatsoever.

"Anyways, baka-nii, the team's having a get-together tonight at Denny's tonight."

"Denny's?" Tadashi blinked in surprise, then chuckled softly. "Why does that sound just like something Fred would choose?"

"Because it is."

"What's the occasion?"

Hiro shrugged, twirling his screwdriver in his hand as he did so. "Crime rates are low, approval rates are high, and it's karaoke night."

"Good enough for me. I guess it's a good thing that I can sing, right?"

"I've never heard you sing, actually," Hiro said with a smile. "I'm genuinely curious now."

"I can sing better than you, that's for sure," Tadashi replied jokingly.

"Unfortunately, that's probably very true."

* * *

Tadashi leaned over, putting an arm around his brother's shoulders. "So, have you decided what you're singing, then?"

"I'm not singing. You can't make me."

"Au contraire," Tadashi replied nonchalantly. "I can indeed. I have pictures of you on top of that stop sign. I wonder what would happen if I leaked them to the media…"

The table grew eerily silent as the Basilisk Glare came out. Even GoGo leaned away from the younger Hamada, who was obviously seething with anger.

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Sing something."

Hiro glared at Tadashi for several seconds before silently walking to the stage and sorting through the available songs, and, triumphantly, his older brother returned to chatting with the group.

 _Oh, I'll sing something. And I'll burst your eardrums in the process, but that's entirely your fault._

Several minutes later, Hiro's silent and snarky remarks proved true.

"For the love of pizza, please, Hiro, _stop!_ "

However, instead of listening to his older brother, Hiro squeezed his eyes tightly shut, clutched the microphone tighter, and sang, if anything, even higher.

" _I've got the scars from tomorrow, and I wish you could see-"_

In the meantime, a good amount of the diner's occupants had their hands over their ears.

"Whose idea was it to let the little dude listen to Fall Out Boy, anyhow?!"

A few pointed glares were sent in Tadashi's direction, who raised his hands defensively-and immediately regretted it, pressing them back to the sides of his head..

"It's not _my_ music, it's Aunt Cass'!"

" _Burn everything you love, then burn the ash-es!"_

"So what you're saying it that Aunt Cass, the most cheerful, kind, bubbly person we know-except for maybe Honey-got your brother into Fall Out Boy?!"

"Yes!"

" _So light 'em up, up, up,_ _ **I'm on**_ _**fire!**_ "

There was an especially high note as the younger Hamada attempted the vocal part, then he gave the gang an especially evil smirk before walking off the stage.

There was no applause, only a lot of soft crying as several people clutched their now-ruined eardrums.

Hiro sat down in his previously unoccupied chair, raising a single eyebrow and silently daring anyone at the table to say anything.

Eventually, it was Fred who broke the silence. "Dude, it's no wonder you don't have any weapons on your suit. Your voice is weapon enough."

"Fair enough. Tadashi, it's your turn."

" _No!"_

Both of the Hamada brothers jumped in their seats, turning to look at the rest of their group befores sharing a confused glance.

"Why not?"

Wasabi hesitated before answering. "Most of your guys' traits are very, very similar. If Tadashi's voice is anything like yours, you guys will have effectively deafened the entire diner in two songs-no offense, Hiro. "

"None taken, but Tadashi's voice is nothing like mine."

"You sure about that, Shorty?" GoGo popped a bubble with her teeth, leaning back in her chair. By now, the name 'Shorty' was a joke amongst the team, especially between GoGo and Hiro, seeing as he was now a good three to four inches taller.

"Positive."

Tadashi flashed his brother a smile before stepping up to the stage himself, a grin flitting across his lips at one on the list. As he got up to the microphone, Hiro smiled.

"Of course, I've never actually heard him sing, so I'm curious as to how this is going to go."

Simultaneously, the entire table put their hands up to their ears in anticipation of the impending audial torture.

* * *

"Okay, that wasn't _that_ bad."

"Not that bad?" Honey Lemon sounded shocked, as if she could hardly comprehend what their leader-if he could be considered their leader-had said. "Your brother really should have been a Broadway singer."

An evil smile tugged at the corner of Hiro's mouth as he glanced at the bright red face of his brother. "I can kind of see that."

"Shut up."

"Can you imagine Tadashi as Cosette in Les Miserables?"

"Shut up right now."

In a horrible imitation of Tadashi's light baritone voice, Hiro fluttered his eyelashes at the elder Hamada and sang. " _A heart full of love, a heart full of light-"_

"Please, stop," Wasabi said loudly, his hands flying once more to his ears.

"Uncultured swine! You guys obviously don't know good music when you hear it."

"Hiro, I have no idea what that is, but it does not in any way, sense, shape or form resemble music."

The younger Hamada shot his brother an anguished glance, silently pleading for him to back him up, but all he got was a headshake and a soft chuckle.

"Fine then. You obviously can't see the raw talent underneath all this pure manliness." To emphasize his point, he attempted to flex his arms-resulting in his showing off just how small he was and earning him a good laugh.

"Admit it, _otouto-_ -for once, I'm good at something that you're not."

"I refuse to admit that. A world in which Tadashi Hamada has managed to one-up his brother is a world I do not want to live in."

A group of young women walking past with a strange assortment of colors in their hair and printed on their skin suddenly burst into laughter at this comment.

"What's so funny?" Hiro shot them a glare, and one of them rolled her eyes in response.

"It's just, somehow, the fact that a little pipsqueak like you has a ton of accomplishments is a little hard to believe, eh?"

Almost immediately, the teasing atmosphere Tadashi was creating had vanished, and he stepped in front of his little brother, giving the woman who had spoken-a pale woman a few inches taller than perhaps Hiro with black and pink streaked hair-a glare that would rival even his brother's.

"For your information, he's a junior in college at 17, and ten times smarter than you'll likely ever be-which doesn't seem to be that great a feat, considering the fact that your IQ probably doesn't even clear 17."

There was a soft ' _ooh'_ ing from the Nerd Herd(a name they had affectionately given themselves), and the woman flushed with rage.

"Why, you little piece of-"

"Emiko," one of the other women in her group interrupted, stepping forward to place her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "It's not worth it. We have places to be, remember? He's not worth your time."

"Obviously," Emiko growled, turning away. The group relaxed, then suddenly she twirled again, catching the elder Hamada with her clenched fist in the jaw.

" _Tadashi!"_

He took a few steps back, staggering until his brother caught him by the arm, helping him regain his balance. The woman who had inflicted said injury shook her hand, unclenching it and smirking.

"Maybe that'll teach you not to mess with a Fujita." It was said in a low voice, her eyes bright with something resembling sadistic delight, and she turned on the heel of her combat boot to rejoin her group. "C'mon, girls. I think Sakura and the rest have got Kasumi taken care of by now-maybe we should join them."

Nodding, a young woman with electric blue hair briefly kicked the side of her boot with her other heel, and wheels smoothly slid out, increasing her height by a good inch or so. The woman who had spoken-Emiko?-made the same motion, and in a few moments they were all skating at high speed out the door and down the street, knocking over a waiter in their haste to leave.

In the meantime, Tadashi was regaining his footing, his hand cradling his injured jaw. "Well. Someone's got a nice right hook."

"Kasumi… Why does that sound familiar?" Honey Lemon frowned-something she didn't do often.

"Kasumi is Aunt Cass' full first name," Hiro reminded her. "It's probably a coincidence, but…" He stopped as Tadashi's eyes grew wide and his breath grew erratic. "Tadashi?"

"Hiro, Aunt Cass used to be a Fujita."

"She…" Hiro blinked in surprise, then put a hand to his forehead. "Why don't I find this surprising?"

"You think they might…?"

"It's too much of a coincidence not to check," Tadashi growled, moving for the door. Hiro followed almost immediately behind him, and they both suddenly froze as they heard a soft _fwoom_ in the distance.

They turned, and were greeted with the sight of smoke and ashes from the direction of the cafe.

* * *

 _ **[So, reviews!**_

 _ **Sydney: Aw, I apologize for making you seem mental. I am glad you enjoyed it, and yes, it is The Phoenix.**_

 _ **Buttons and Horseshoes: Awh, thank you so much! And yes, there will be heartbreak material. No worries there!**_

 _ **That sounds great-as long as I can remember to put that up later. xD**_

 _ **Guest: Yes, yes it is. xD**_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: I dunno, he seemed pretty cocky at the beginning of the chapter. I felt like he needed a little come-uppance.**_

 _ **Indeed. I tried to make it as embarrassing as possible while still staying in character.**_

 _ **Tears Fall: No, it is not. xD Dashi is very immature.**_

 _ **DaydreamDepartment: Yeah, that sounds like something my friends would do as well. xD Well, the lighthearted atmosphere has diminished somewhat-I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.**_

 _ **Th3Ph4nt0miz3r: Indeed he did. The sneaky little knucklehead. xD**_

 _ **Forever Me: Eeyup! I hope you enjoyed it!**_

 _ **Awh, thank you so, so much! ;u;**_

 _ **Tony18: So am I-I'm currently dealing with huge holes in the plot, but I am figuring them out as I go. *procrastinating author lady is being dumb***_

 _ **Yeah, I felt bad for the emotional and physical pain in the last story, thus the lightheartedness, but...**_

 _ ***soft laughing***_

 _ **CreativeWriter3: Thank you so, so much! ;U; You have no idea how happy this makes me. I love making people laugh. I like making them cry, too, but I also love laughter. I don't know which one I like more, but I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm glad I made you laugh!**_

 _ **Everyone Else: Thank you so, so much for your continued support and willingness to deal with my slow updates and shoddy authoring! I hope to see y'all again come next chapter!**_

 _ **Until then...**_

 _ **•-**_ _ **•**_ _**I am satisfied with my care. Oblivious Out! *flings self out of frame*]**_


	3. Let My Roots Take Flight

_**[Hello again, dear readers. I have returned with a chapter thingy, and would like to apologize for the crap writing. I have been scatterbrained as of late, and my computer broke, So I'm writing with a computer that has a cracked screen. Any grammatical errors are likely as a result of that.**_

 _ **So, I decided to switch things up a little bit. I have several headcanons for this universe, and as such, I will add a list of the headcanons involved in this chapter at the end of each new addition. Just so that I don't have to explain in in the middle of the chapter.**_

 _ **Anyways, the song for today is 'Tiptoe' by Imagine Dragons.**_

 _ **In response to your reviews(because I am now answering them up here):**_

 _ **DaydreamDepartment: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope I explain further in this chapter.**_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: Yeah, it was a little weird. I'm sorry! Dx I hope I make up for it this time around.**_

 _ **Ness: Yeah yeah, I know. Weird. I'm working on it. *throws a brick at you***_

 _ **Th3Ph4nt0miz3r: I'm sorry about that wait! *hands you a razor to shave your beard***_

 _ **Shoyzz: Karaoke is not Hiro's thing. xD Don't worry, all shall be explained soon enough!  
**_

 _ **Tony18: Yeah, Tadashi's PTSD is almost nonexistent by now. He'll have the occasional nightmare, and sometimes an anxiety attack after a particularly terrifying experience involving Hiro being dumb and putting himself in danger, but other than that it's almost gone. Aunt Cass insists he continue with the visits though, because she's convinced that one of his stunts will trigger a panic attack or something.**_

 _ **Yeah, Kyle's a bit dull. xD**_

 _ **I listed a headcanon below talking about that actually-not even Hiro can be good at everything. XD**_

 _ **I hope I have explained somewhat in this chapter!**_

 _ **BigHero6FanD: I'm glad you enjoyed that. XD**_

 _ **That's because Fall Out Boy is awesome.**_

 _ **I JUST BLEW SOMETHING UP, THAT'S WHAT. MUA. HAHA. HAHA.**_

 _ **I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I'm glad I triggered your emotions.**_

 _ **CreativeWriter3: AHAHA That just made my day. I like being infuriating. At least I don't take a month to update.**_

 _ **Aw, thanks! I'm glad that I'm able to do that. I'm generally no good with nice, rounded endings. Everything has to be a cliffhanger. Everything.**_

 _ **I was actually going to post a little thing at some point with one-shots in this series. As soon as this story is over, though, the one-shots will likely be over as well. The ending I have in mind isn't exactly one that leaves a ton of room for extras. The one-shots won't be now, but some time when I have time and am not overwhelmed with this or my Portal AU.**_

 _ **Everyone else: Thank you so, so much for reading! I couldn't have done this without your support!]**_

* * *

 _ **I**_ _n the morning light let my roots take flight  
Watch me fall above like a vicious dove  
They don't see me come, who can blame them?  
They never seem to catch my eye but I never wondered why_

 _-'Tiptoe' by Imagine Dragons_

* * *

Cass leaned against the doorframe, waving as her nephews climbed into Wasabi's new and improved van, then turned to head inside for a donut.

Really, she had barely even gotten to stress eating-an unfortunate habit that she had picked up after taking in the boys-since Tadashi had finally come home. Of course, she had confined both of the boys to their rooms for a month. Tadashi would occasionally protest that 'I'm 23, you can't ground me', but after a single cold look he would immediately fall silent and slink to his room-as well as a man with only one leg could slink, that is.

She picked up a latte from it's place on her counter, indulging herself in the single donut. Because while she had, for the most part, stopped with the stress eating, Cass did live with two superheroes-one being a former botfighter, and the other being both a murderer and legally dead. Seeing as the latter had never actually been revealed to the public, Tadashi had never been prosecuted for what should have put him away for a while.

Luckily, no one had seen him without his mask, and Hiro really was an amazing hacker. Murderer? What murderer? Where? The only thing we have here is a beautiful cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure. Want some donuts, officer?

There had been only two occasions that Cass could think of in which she had actually been stress eating after her oldest nephew's return. The first was when Hiro had been in his coma. The second had been when he got his piercings.

Which, if she was being entirely honest, didn't look that bad. And it wasn't as if he had too many. He had a few purple and scarlet studs along the cartilage of his ears, a stud in his tongue, and a hoop at the corner of his left eye, but they didn't necessarily look bad. They were mainly to draw attention from the scar running from his left eye to his right cheekbone, anyways. It was really the realization that Hiro wasn't a baby any more that stressed her(however much he may have looked otherwise).

Cass let out a contented sigh as she took a sip of her coffee, picking up a book as she passed her kitchen table.

"Enjoying yourself, sister?"

Suddenly, the moment of peace was gone as coffee spilled onto the floor, her mug shattering against the tile.

 _No._

"Aw. Is that any way to greet family?"

Cass' hands clenched into fists, her fingernails leaving the familiar imprints into her palms. "You were never my family."

"You took an oath, Rakki. Sisters for life."

"I don't know what we were, Sakura, but never sisters."

"Fujitas stick together, remember?" The young woman with the purple streaked hair came into Kasumi's line of sight, the purple hoop in her nose catching the light. "We would never have let you leave if we'd known you'd become this." The last word was spat with a hiss so like the cat on the front of the building.

"Happy?"

"Settled down," Sakura corrected. "Tied to the ground. Fujitas are free. You've become a _parrot._ "

"A parrot," Cass repeated numbly, vaguely remembering the slang term for someone who had stuck to a traditional life.

""You were a speed demon, Rakki! You used to be our best mechanic! You were a genius," Sakura said quietly, her fingertip pressed to Cass' chest, just below where her collarbone jutted out. "And I never understood why Emiko let you leave in the first place."

"Because I threatened to take over if she didn't? And because I would have done it, too," she growled at the younger woman. "I was smart, and strong, and popular among the gang. God knows what the Fujitas would have become under my leadership? Certainly better than anything Emiko's made. And she didn't like that."

"So she let you just leave? No last hurrah?"

"I didn't want one."

"And see how the mighty have fallen," Sakura sneered. "Once a goddess, now a small bird with it's wings clipped, crippled beyond repair. You have a cafe, for the love of-"

"Language, Sakura."

"And your morals!" The younger woman almost shrieked. "You have a family! Not even a strong family that can get you things, but a weak, spineless-"

"My nephews are many things," Kasumi growled, "but they have never been weak."

"Your eldest-Tadashi, is it?"

"That's right."

"He's a cripple. He can't even walk on his own two legs."

"That's enough, Sakura." Cass stood up straight, cracking her knuckles. "I won't let you criticize my family."

" _We're_ your family. Not a cripple and an underdeveloped parasite of an encyclopedia!"

Cass didn't even know that she had punched the younger woman until she heard the cry of pain, seen the blood splatter her kitchen tiles- _I just mopped. She's going to pay for that._

"You…"

"If I hear you insult my nephews one more time, you're not going to get off so easily."

Sakura stared at her, eyes wide as her hands clutched her nose, trying to stem the flow of blood, then she started cracking up, blood dripping into her wide open mouth and streaming down her chin to drop onto the tiles. She coughed, teeth stained red, and suddenly wrenched her nose back in place. Sakura let out a sharp shriek of pain, then reached for a rag to clean her face. "You haven't lost any of that old strength."

"And you none of your constitution," Cass replied, disgusted at the blood staining her clean floor. "Why are you here?"

Sakura blinked in surprise, then grinned again, the familiar sharpened teeth flashing at her. "The Fujitas have had an offer."

"What kind of offer? From who?"

"A man named Moru," Sakura replied, leaning on the table with one hand, her other clutching the rag to her nose. "He's taken over a lot of the gangs down here, including Yama's. He's hired the Fujitas to help him out with a special target."

"Moru, eh?" The red haired woman-well, it wasn't entirely red, no matter how many times she dyed it, the silver streaks always came back with a vengeance-ran a hand over the spine of one of the books on the table before picking it up. "Your point?"

The tough and arrogant exterior melted immediately, Sakura's lips pursed as she considered guilting her. Reason won out over manipulation and she decided to give her the facts. "Our numbers are low. Too low for this kind of thing. You were one of our best, Rakki. We need you."

"Go find someone else."

"I don't think you understand, Rakki." Sakura pulled out her phone, and smiled as she opened a file. "Recognize this?"

Cass turned to look, and felt her blood turn to ice.

Obviously arguing about something while the team looked on in amusement, sat her two nephews-the ones that she babied more than she probably should have at their age-the ones that were currently at Denny's for karaoke night.

"Emiko and the others are at Denny's in case you don't comply. You're coming with us, and you're going to help. Or your nephews might just have a little accident on the way home."

"What kind of accident?" Cass almost didn't want to ask, but ask she did, and Sakura's lips twisted into a cruel smile.

"We have a 'drunk driver' on standby if Emiko gives the signal. Poor little Encyclopedia Brown and his crippled brother won't even know what hit them."

Cass took two steps away from the woman, green eyes alight with a jade fire-but what was the fuel? Fear? Fury? Both?

"You wouldn't dare."

"We've done worse. You've seen the damage. You've inflicted some of it."

And it was true-Kasumi had been the pedestrian who had slipped a needle underneath her target's skin after bumping into them, destroying their focus, or the driver herself. The results were never very pretty. As a younger woman, their twisted bodies slumped on the side of the road had simply been dismissed as another casualty, a just penalty.

As a surrogate mother, a woman who had seen too much, she would never be able to look at a car accident and not see blood, shattered glass and dented machinery. She wouldn't be able to get the images of bones poking through skin out of her head.

 _That could be Hiro. That could be Tadashi._

"...And if I come back, you'll leave my nephews alone."

"They won't have a clue what happened."

* * *

They had only just left the house when a beep from Sakura's pocket caught Cass' perked ear to attention.

"What's that?"

"The detonator letting me know it's about to go off."

"The…?"

Even before she was finished speaking, a soft boom hit the women's ears, Sakura dragging her along. "C'mon, everyone will have time to get out. The fire spreads quickly, but we have a good five minutes before the building's inescapable."

 _My home._

 _My business._

The memories in that building were going up in flames. Mochi held no worries for her-that cat could take care of himself, he was smart. But the pictures, the countless days she'd spent in the kitchen, the garage where the boys, her boys had built their first robot, their hovercraft, the microbots, their suits of armor.

The armor-Oh, did the Fujitas have another thing coming.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Cass' lips as Sakura pulled her across the street. Because while the young Fujita was so sure that her family was weak, useless, Cass knew that her nephews were the heroes of San Fransokyo, one being the leader of the Big Hero 7. They would find her.

"Who does Moru want gone?"

"Who else poses a big enough threat for us to call in reinforcements?"

Cass blinked in confusion. "Yama's dead, so…"

"Dummy, we're going after the Big Hero 7."

 _Oh._

 _Oh, no._

* * *

 ** _So, because I didn't do this for the first two chapters, here are my headcanons for the last three._**

 ** _-Tadashi's suit covers up pretty much all of him except for a few breaks in the plating, very similar to his Sukochi armor. It's orange with red hues streaked throughout(for effect), and with a skintight white suit underneath it as fire protection. A similar suit lies underneath most of the armor on the rest of the team, but matching their suits in terms of color. The only reason Tadashi doesn't have an orange one is because the sheer amount of orange in his suit was fiercely unattractive and he has attempted(and failed) on several occasions to use the suit as a pickup line._**

 ** _His armor has several compartments for various weapons that he keeps stored there, such as energy darts similar to the laser induced plasma Wasabi so loves. He has a few plasma knives just in case, but prefers to use the darts, as well as an assortment of chemical bombs that Honey Lemon mixes up for him. At some point, he begged Hiro to put in a few flame whips into the compartments on his wrist, which are coils of wire neatly twisted into the compartments and each attached to a panel on his elbow. The wires can spontaneously burst into flames at the press of a button. This was an amazing idea at first, until Tadashi set his fifteenth tree on fire. He probably wouldn't have cared if Hiro hadn't had a panic attack. His overprotective brother instinct kicked in, and he agreed to let Hiro take the whips out._**

 ** _Both of the brothers have rocket thrusters in their boots, going from the heel to mid-calf(although in theory that would be a bad idea, as for rocket boots to be functional the thrusters should go up to the thigh, but seeing as it would also require their legs to be locked in place, I have taken a few liberties._**

 ** _-Tadashi has turned into a daredevil of sorts, doing anything and everything simply because he can. There are several Vines of Tadashi running into buildings because he didn't switch off his thrusters fast enough, belly flopping onto an awning, bumping into stop signs and traffic lights, and most of them are because he did a stupid dare. None of the team approve-except for Fred, who has given him many of the dares.  
_**

 ** _Seriously, any person on the street can walk up to the elder Hamada brother and say 'Hey, I bet you can't clear that tree on your boots' or something similar, and he'll flash them a grin, start up his boots, and say 'I bet you I could clear that tree AND the one next to it.' And he'll do it. Or maybe he'll fail. Either way, Hiro will glare at him like he just insulted their mother._**

 ** _-After one too many short jokes, Hiro finally went to Baymax and begged him to lend a hand. As a result, Baymax put him on a strict regime of healthy food, a good sleep schedule, and exercise. Grudgingly, Hiro followed it to the T. However, he only ever grew to be about 5'7". Therefore, he is still 'Shorty' to most of the team. Well, all of the team. Whether he's taller or not, Hiro will always be GoGo's 'short' friend._**

 ** _-Tadashi's PTSD is almost gone-he'll have the occasional nightmare or anxiety attack, but for the most part he's pretty much over it. However, Aunt Cass isn't too convinced-she had been woken up one too many times by his heartbroken sobs after he flashed back to shooting Hiro, or the fire, or carrying his brother out of the building in Las Edo. Hiro usually took care of it-and once or twice she'd come in to wake them up and found that Tadashi had fallen asleep fiercely hugging his little brother-but sometimes, when Hiro was at classes and she was working, she'd hear a crash from the back room and find Tadashi on the floor gasping for breath and with tears streaming down his face. She's terrified of coming up to wake them up and finding him on the floor like that again, because he's always been their rock and it's so horribly reality shaking. He's not mentally invincible, and it hurt her more than anything to discover that._**

 ** _Thus, as a courtesy to her, Tadashi continues to see the therapist, although he and Cass have agreed that as soon as the symptoms are completely gone, he'll stop going._**

 ** _-Hiro has a terrible singing voice. Like, REALLY bad. It honestly wouldn't be fair if he didn't. He's good at literally everything else, he can't be an amazing musician on top of that._**

 ** _-After the Las Edo incident, Hiro's shoulder has kind of become twisted after the constant beating it took. Not so much that, like, it looks beaten up, but so that it kind of always looks like he's shrugging that shoulder a little. It isn't painful(except for when he strains it a little too much), but it does look a little odd. As a result, he generally has more padding on his right shoulder than his left when he puts his armor on to try and distract from it._**

 ** _-Tadashi was very self conscious about his scars and cybernetic leg, so as soon as Hiro caught on, he would go out with Tadashi in the most flamboyant, spontaneous clothing he could find: For example, a neon yellow t-shirt, white skinny jeans, bright red converses, a fedora, and one of Tadashi's old jackets. No one would pay a ton of attention to Tadashi when his little brother was walking around looking like Lady Gaga, and so it sort of became his thing after a while. As soon as Tadashi became a little more comfortable with himself, though, Hiro switched back to his normal look. However, in his attempt to look as weird as possible, he got several piercings and a red streak through his hair. GoGo convinced him to get the streak, but he decided to get the piercings himself. They didn't look that bad, but what only Aunt Cass knew was that he didn't get them for Tadashi-he got them because they distracted from his own scars, as he had sustained several burns on his face as well as a long ragged scar from the wood that got him across the face._**

 ** _-Tadashi is a huge Katy Perry fan, while Hiro is really into heavier stuff-like Imagine Dragons, definitely Dubstep, and way too much Fall Out Boy._**

 ** _-Hiro's put on a little bit of muscle over the past two years, partially because of his job, but mostly because GoGo keeps dragging him to gyms because 'Geez, Shorty, Tunnel Vision needs to bring you more sandwiches.'_**

 ** _-Tadashi's superhero name is 'Eclipse', inspired by his brightly colored suit and the flame whips(that Hiro took out). Hiro spends more time making sure Tadashi's safe than he should during conflict, and as a result it's been hypothesized that the two are very close, resulting in his superhero name to be 'Twilight', due to him being the most mysterious member of the team(owing to his being extremely antisocial), his suit being a purple which reflects that of the San Fransokyo sky at moonrise, and the fact that he hates the book series and Tadashi encouraged it mercilessly. GoGo is 'Comet', Wasabi is 'Lightning', Honey Lemon is 'Dewdrop', and Fred is, at his request, 'Wildfire'._**

 ** _-Tadashi went through a surgery after coming home to regain the sight in his left eye, which thankfully went successfully. If this had not been the case, Hiro invented a contact lens which would connect to the sensors in his cornea and given him a vague sense of sight-at least, he would be able to distinguish lights and colors. Hiro sold the invention to Krei Tech, and as a result he is richer than any 17 year old should be. He uses this money to first pay off Tadashi's medical bills, help out with his aunt's cafe, then pours the rest into tech for the team._**

 ** _And there you have it, my long, long list of headcanons. It's worth reading though-some of it is funny, some of it not so much anyways-_**

 ** _This is where I leave you for now! Oblivious Out! *throws self out of frame*]_**


	4. Blood in the Breeze

_**[Hello followers, favoriters, and everyone not currently sitting in a chair and reading my story. (yes this was a reference don't you judge me)**_

 _ **I apologize for the late chapter, and the fact that it's so short probably isn't very satisfying. Sigh. I am sorry. I'm suffering from Writer's Block right now, and I have yet to work on an outline.**_

 _ **Anyways, for the responses to your reviews...**_

 _ **SomebodyAwesomeSauce: Thank you so much! I honestly spend more time on headcanons than I do on the actual writing, haha~!**_

 _ **BigHero6Fan D: I disagree, but hey, I'm my worst critic. ;p**_

 _ **Hehe... Yeah, no, I do not update quickly, Sorry!**_

 _ **CreativeWriter3: You think so? I see Aunt Cass as the kind of person that is extremely motherly and kind, very maternal and happy go lucky most of the time, but if you even think about threatening one of her boys, she will cut you.**_

 _ **Honestly, I'm not sure. I was thinking about the same length as the last one, but I haven't gotten to planning an outline, so it could be WAY shorter. The last story had two 'arcs' in my perspective: The 'Sukochi Arc'(which was from the beginning of the story to when Hiro got shot), and the 'Reunion Arc'(which was from the end of the Sukochi Arc to the end). I am not really seeing two separate arcs here, it's just kind of muddled. The whole story is kind of muddled to me, I am seeing a beginning, an end, and a vague semblance of a plot twist, but that's about it. xD**_

 _ **One thing for sure, though-This is the last story in the Scorched AU.**_

 _ **DaydreamDepartment: No, they were not in the building. They were outside when it detonated, and it wasn't an explosive-it was an incendiary. It set the house on fire, but didn't cause a quote en quote 'explosion'. No problem!  
**_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: Thank you so much! ;u;**_

 _ **Tears Fall: Muahaha. *laughs at you***_

 _ **Tony18: Yeah, Aunt Cass is kind of hard to interpret. She doesn't really have a ton of screen time, but the time she has makes her really confusing to me. She's the typical mother figure, but I get this sense that there's something else going on. Thus the gang. And really, even if she hadn't at least indirectly killed several people, I think she'd still accept Tadashi after the events of Falling, Shatter.**_

 _ **Aha, and that's where I insert a plot twist. Muahaha!**_

 _ **Now that's an idea. I might just do that. I have an archive for my one-shots on my Account-it's called 'Where Our Eyes Are Never Closing'. Some of them will be Scorched AU, some of them won't be. I won't be updating it regularly, but I don't want to add all my one-shots as separate chapters on here. ;p**_

 _ **Everyone else: Thank you so much for reading and supporting me! I love you guys!**_

 _ **Today's song is, unironically, 'I See Fire' by Ed Sheeran(gotta love this guy, he is an amazing human being). Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

 _'And if the night is burning, I will cover my eyes  
_

 _For if the dark returns then my brothers will die_

 _And if the sky is falling down, it crashed into this lonely town_

 _And with that shadow upon the ground, I hear my people screaming out_

 _And I see fire.'_

 _-'I See Fire' by Ed Sheeran_

* * *

"Tadashi, slow down! I'm going to fall off!"

"I'm not slowing down, you should just hold on tighter!"

"If I hold on any tighter, I'll strangle you."

"Why don't you use your own freaking rocket boots?"

Hiro let out a soft growl as Tadashi turned a corner, riding on his back. "I haven't gotten a chance to refuel."

"Then shut up and let me drive!"

To further irritate his brother as he headed towards the cafe as quickly as possible, he launched himself into the air, clearing a crate before barely skimming above the ground once more.

"Are you _trying_ to kill me?!"

Tadashi didn't respond as he skidded around the corner, almost crashing into a car as he did so.

"Okay, you're trying to kill me. Is this because I said you'd be good as Cosette-"

"Hiro, if you don't shut up, I'm going to drop you into the bay."

"Shame on you. I'm 17. I have so much to live for."

Tadashi didn't respond, as he was focused on not getting hit by moving vehicles and not murdering the prodigy riding on his back.

"Wait, Tadashi, turn here."

"Already on it," he replied, purposefully going a little faster than he normally would have.

" _Mearp_."

The brothers were barely able to look at the indignant cat as ash flitted onto the street.

The road was almost completely blocked off by fire engines, smoke filling the air and rolling off the building in front of them.

Their home.

The unstoppable force that was Hiro's sarcasm died down, grinding to a halt.

 _"Aunt Cass…"_

Tadashi didn't think twice about setting Hiro down on the ground, then moving as quickly as he could to get a closer look. _Please, Aunt Cass, don't-_

 _"Tadashi!"_

He jumped in surprise, then frantically searched for the source of the voice. In a few moments, his eyes finally alighted on the kneeling form of his brother and ran back.

"Hiro, what-"

"Please- Please don't go," he whispered, tears springing to his eyes. "Not again."

 _That's right. I forgot…_

"Hiro, I'm not going in. I promise." Tadashi leaned over, putting his hand on Hiro's shoulder in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture, then jumped in surprise as Hiro flinched.

"I can't… I can't lose you again," he stammered, eyes flitting to the fire and back to the figure in front of him. His chest rose and fell quickly, pupils shrinking to a pinpoint.

Tadashi was all too familiar with the signs that preceded a panic attack.

"And you won't. I'm not going in. I'm just going to go up to the fire engines and see if they found Aunt Cass or if she got out. The Fujitas said something about taking care of her, but I have a feeling that she isn't going to be taken out by something so small as a house fire."

"You almost got taken out by a fire," Hiro murmured in response, arms wrapping around his knees.

"I ran into one. Purposefully. There's a difference." Seeing that he wasn't going to be convinced any time soon, Tadashi let out a soft sigh of resignation. "Okay. C'mon, we're both going."

Hiro didn't reply as he was hoisted onto his brother's shoulders, except to let out a soft whimper of fear.

"Geez, Hiro, you're getting too big for me to carry. That might just be because you're 17 now. You should really learn to get around yourself," Tadashi said easily, trying to sooth the younger boy while they walked toward their smoking home. When there wasn't a reply, he gave up the banter and remained silent as he walked toward the nearest engine.

"Sir?"

The man standing next to it turned to face him, gesturing for him to get away. "This place is dangerous-you could inhale too much smoke."

"That's my home that's on fire, sir. I just want to know if you found a woman in there… I think my aunt was inside."

The firefighter blinked, then his gaze softened. "I'm sorry, but we haven't found anyone. I'll come and find you if we do, but the area isn't safe for civilians right now. I would suggest you evacuate the area."

"Of course," Tadashi replied, turning his back on the place and moving away from the fire, pretending he hadn't noticed how tight Hiro's arms were wrapped around him when they were near the building.

"Aunt Cass…"

"Wasn't in the building when it caught on fire."

"How do you know?" The slightest hint of a sob crept into Hiro's voice, and Tadashi quickly set him down again as soon as they were far enough away.

"Mochi's out. If he's out, it means that Aunt Cass is-you know that darn cat wouldn't leave her in there alone."

Hiro contemplated this as the aforementioned cat jumped down from the hood of a nearby car, nuzzling up to the younger Hamada's hand and meowing.

"I guess that's true," Hiro replied, still very quiet. He let his fingertips trail down the cat's spine, then rubbed behind his ears in an attempt to calm him down. "Hey there, Mochi. You wouldn't be able to tell us where Aunt Cass is, would you?"

Mochi blinked and looked up at Hiro, tilting his head. "Meawrp."

Hiro took this to mean 'Well, I do, but seeing as I am a superior being, you are incapable of understanding my current dialect and as a result I am unable to tell you. Perhaps you should try and figure it out yourself.'

What Mochi actually said was very different. It was something more along the lines of 'Hello, smaller human slave. Please tell me where the female human slave is, because it is currently supper time and I don't trust you with my food after last time.'

"I don't think the Fujitas killed Aunt Cass-she's too tough for that. I mean, you haven't seen her in action, but she's fierce. They probably wanted her back."

"That's a pretty big assumption to be making."

Tadashi shrugged. "It's the best I've got."

Hiro didn't reply, looking down at the calico cat and running his fingertips through Mochi's fur.

"Hey."

He looked up, russet eyes similar to his own staring him down.

"We have to have hope, Hiro."

He let himself glance back at the ruins of the Lucky Cat, then knelt down next to his brother, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.

"It's all we have left."

* * *

 ** _[Headcanon time!_**

 ** _-After the events of Falling, Shatter, Hiro developed a severe phobia of fire, and more specifically burning buildings. Tadashi has suggested he go to his therapy sessions with him, but Hiro has insisted that he's fine dealing with it on his own. And by that, he means that whenever he has a panic attack, he goes directly to Baymax, has him turn on his heating element, and falls asleep on the marshmallow robot. It has proved more than effective, but in special cases(such as the previous one), it takes a little more than a nap to fix.  
_**

 ** _-Mochi and Aunt Cass are practically inseparable. Even when she leaves the cafe, he's generally pacing by the door until she returns._**

 ** _-Once, Hiro was left home alone while Aunt Cass was at the hospital with Tadashi during his surgery. You know, the one for his eye. Hiro naturally wanted to come, but seeing as he wouldn't be able to do much, Aunt Cass insisted he stay home, and in the meantime asked him to do some chores, including getting the coffee maker started up and feeding Mochi. Somehow, Mochi's bowl ended up full of coffee beans, resulting in his bouncing off the walls all day._**

 ** _The taste never did entirely come out of the espresso machine, and as a result Aunt Cass had to buy a new one. Customers have an uncomfortably verbal dislike of Beef Liver Delight.]_**

 ** _[I think it's pretty obvious that I am not a firefighter and a result have no idea what they actually tell people when they're next to a burning building. xD_**

 ** _I mean, I know one. But I'm too lazy to ask._**

 ** _I hope you enjoyed, now..._**

 ** _Oblivious Out! *throws self out of frame*]_**


	5. Am I So Insignificant?

_**[Hello. First, I would like to apologize fotr the delay. So,here is the new chapter! But first...  
**_

 _ **Reviews!**_

 _ **Tears Fall: Oh, like you're much better? *throws a brick at your head***_

 _ **Zebrafinch: Yeah, and my cat is very similar. XD**_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: Oh yes. I hope to take care of the food issue in this chapter. Poor Mochi, though!**_

 _ **DaydreamDepartment: Hehehe... Yeah. That was intentional. I'm a jerk. xD Sometimes, when my sister is annoyed, I'll come up to her and sing that very line, and she'll turn around and try to slap me.**_

 _ **I can't really see Aunt Cass fighting them for any reason whatsoever. She's too protective of her brood to lay a finger on them.**_

 _ **BigHero6Fan D: Yeah, I'm just really bad at it.**_

 _ **Thank you so, so much! You have no idea how much I needed that.**_

 _ **My cat certainly thinks of humans the same way, so that's where THAT came from.**_

 _ **Tony18: Yeah, I hoped to delve a little bit into the emotion on Hiro's side this chapter. All throughout Falling, Shatter it seemed to be mainly Tadashi's damage that was taken into account, but I think Hiro took away more psychological damage than he'll ever say.**_

 _ **Thank you. ;u; I needed that.**_

 _ **Everyone else: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter!]**_

* * *

 _"Am I that unimportant?  
_

 _Am I so insignificant?_

 _...And if I sleep just to dream of you,_

 _I'll wake without you there._

 _Isn't something missing?"_

 _-Missing, Evanescence_

* * *

"Mearp."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Mearp."

"...I don't know, I'll ask. Hey, Fred?"

The redhead started, looking around frantically until his eyes rested on the younger Hamada. "...Yes?"

"You wouldn't happen to have cat food, would you?"

"...No. We don't generally have cats. I can go out and get some if you need me to."

Hiro threw him a small smile, and shook his head. "Nah, I can just have Tadashi go and get some."

"Isn't he busy?"

"Well, yeah," Hiro admitted, his bangs falling into his eyes, "but no one can resist this face."

"I dunno, you've gotten a little less 'cutesy' over the years," Fred replied with a smirk. "Especially since you messed up your face with the piercings."

In response, Hiro frowned and stuck his tongue out at the young adult, showing off the dark purple stud imbedded there. "I'm plenty cute. You just watch me."

In response, Fred got to his feet, gesturing to the door where they went to go and find Hiro's older brother, finally discovered a sleep-deprived 25 year old with three empty cups that used to hold coffee at a desk. His fingertips traced the red and blue lines that represented the streets of San Fransokyo, pausing to take a note every now and then.

And here we find a college student in his natural habitat.

Tadashi's eyes were barely open, his breathing slightly erratic from the effort it took to simply stay awake, hair wrecked to the point of it's rivaling his brother's.

"Hey. Hey, Tadashi."

Russet brown eyes fluttered open, wearily glancing to meet his brother's. "Hm?"

"You wanna go get cat food for Mochi?"

"Hiro, I'm exhausted. What do you think?"

"Do you need some money for the cat food?"

Tadashi threw his brother a look of _Why do you do this to me, what did I ever do to you?_

In response, Hiro responded with a look of _Well, you shot me, left me for dead while you ran off to Sin City, hit me upside the head with a metal pipe, and I'm not even MENTIONING that you let me believe you were dead for two years._

Tadashi slowly got to his feet, silently took the money from his brother's hand, and with a yawn, starting walking to the garage where his moped was parked, every so often bumping into a wall.

"You know, Hiro, you should probably go and make sure he doesn't crash into a building or something."

"...Yeah."

* * *

At this point, Hiro was completely and utterly torn. All his life, Mochi had been a creature of darkness, demon-spawn, some kind of monster in disguise.

But after seeing his heartbroken mewling when he realized that Aunt Cass wouldn't be coming to stroke him, Hiro had realized that maybe he didn't share a house with a heartless, fur-covered alien.

"Hiro, would you hurry up? We need to get back so that I can get back to tracking down where the Fujitas might be."

"Yeah, yeah," Hiro replied to his brother detachedly. "You think Mochi would prefer Beef with Gravy, or Chicken and Rice?"

Tadashi was looking at a small cat toy when Hiro spoke, and he froze, dropping the toy on the ground and wincing at the soft squeak.

"...What…?"

"I just… I don't know what he prefers."

"Hiro, he's a cat."

At this, Hiro turned to shoot his brother a look of pure venom. "Yeah, well, believe it or not, cats have tastebuds too. No wonder he's so grumpy all the time, I would be too if I had to eat Beef Liver Delight for every meal."

By now, Tadashi was completely incredulous. "I thought you hated him?"

"Well, maybe I don't now. A person can change his mind."

"You never change your mind. On anything."

Hiro finally sighed and picked up some five or six cans of each, dumping them into the cart Tadashi was commandeering. "Just shut up and drive."

"I'm not driving anything. This is a shopping cart. We also need some coffee. And Red Bull. Possibly Five Hour Energy."

"Please tell me you're not going to mix all of those together."

In response, Tadashi only grinned.

"Tadashi, you need to sleep," Hiro said sharply, throwing a cat toy at his face. "I mean, we all do, but mostly you. You've been up for days."

Tadashi rolled his eyes, turning a small berry flavored Five Hour Energy in his hand. "I can hardly sleep when Aunt Cass has been abducted."

"Something tells me that if you let yourself, you would do so immediately."

"Exactly. Thus, the Five Hour Energy-coffee-Red Bull mix."

"You're going to kill yourself," Hiro muttered, shaking his head and taking the shopping cart from his brother's hands. "I'm going to assume that you forgot your wallet at Fred's place?"

"Of course not," Tadashi replied, smirking as he reached into his pocket. After a matter of moments during which the elder Hamada searched his pockets, the grin began to drop from his face.

"Well?"

"Shut up."

"I barely said anything," Hiro replied, an innocent smile tugging at his lips. An innocent smile that was barely skin-deep.

"You were thinking it, though. Please stop. It's a dangerous pastime for knuckleheads such as yourself."

In response, Hiro rolled his eyes and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, silently calculating the cost. "Okay, you owe me about 22 bucks."

Tadashi blinked incredulously. "I owe you?"

"Yes, because I asked you to go and get the cat food, and I ended up both getting it all myself and footing the bill. You've been pretty useless on this trip."

Tadashi allowed himself another smirk, reaching out to ruffle the head of long black hair. "That's what I'm here for."

"What a tragic role reversal," Hiro scoffed. "Here I am being the responsible sibling, while you're being generally useless and lying around all day."

"I know," Tadashi replied with a shudder. "Terrifying, isn't it?"

"I'm going to be an adult soon."

Tadashi glanced at his little brother with a strange mixture of amusement, pride, and… was that sadness?

"Yeah."

"My birthday is this January."

"You're getting closer every day, you know. One of these days, you won't be the kid prodigy."

Hiro threw his brother a smirk, leaning on the shopping cart. "I'll always be the kid prodigy, whether I'm a kid or not."

"True." There was silence as they pulled into line, waiting as the family in front of them with four children simultaneously unloaded their cart and tried to keep from upsetting the entire line.

"What do you intend to do once you graduate?"

Hiro let out a soft sigh, scuffing his sneaker against the floor. "I'm still thinking."

"About?"

Now it was obvious that Hiro was hiding something. His eyes scanned the ground for a way out, hands shoved into his pockets, letting his hair obscure his face.

"Hiro?"

"...I got an offer from Krei Tech to run a branch in Colorado."

There, the news was out. The teenager refused to look at his brother, expecting a lecture on how his place should be at home, or a look of complete and utter dismay. This had been one of the reasons he was thinking of turning down the offer, because of course he couldn't leave Tadashi behind. Not now, after the events in the past four years.

Living without Tadashi in his life had been hell, knowing that he had become shattered and torn felt the world crumble around him. Watching his brother live his life in pain and scared was almost the last straw, but seeing him pull the trigger on the one he'd sworn to protect broke the camel's back. He'd never said anything, but the bullet damaged more than just his shoulder.

Tadashi was right, offering to take Hiro to one of his therapy sessions. If he were being honest, the pain of seeing his big-hearted, compassionate, cheerful nii-chan become a spirit of vengeance had hurt him more than he'd ever say. But he swore quietly to himself that Tadashi would never know-he already felt the guilt as a sharp knife, twisting in his gut. He couldn't know of the secret hurt of _He didn't think I'd understand, he thought that he was a burden to me, that I wouldn't accept him as he was, I have to be there to support him now, why wasn't I enough? Does he not trust me? What else has he hidden from me?_

 _What if it's all a lie?_

 _What if he's still that vengeful spirit?_

 _If I told him what's going on in my head, would he confirm it? Would he hate me for doubting him? Would he think he'd lost my support?_

 _I can't tell him._

 _He might not know it, but he needs me._

It hurt to think that the chance of a lifetime could put Tadashi in a position where he might not have that support.

A firm, warm hand clasped his good shoulder, and finally Hiro felt obligated to look up.

"Are you going to take it?"

Tadashi was obviously pushing back some emotion, whether it was pain or excitement Hiro couldn't tell.

As he asked, Hiro suddenly knew the answer, and shook his head. "No, I'm not." He glanced over to see the woman at the register waiting patiently, and frantically pulled out his wallet to pay for Mochi's food. "I couldn't leave you here by yourself, nerd. You'd destroy the whole town within a week."

Tadashi grinned in response, picking up a bag from the carousel. "Ridiculous. You underestimate me. An hour, tops."

"Agreed," Hiro laughed. "Also, I like my current job, I really don't need a new one."

"Regardless, you shouldn't stick around just because I'm here, Hiro." Tadashi's lighthearted banter strolled into more serious territory as his brother clambered onto the moped behind him. "You have your own life, you can go and live it."

"Well, I'd like to live it here. You don't want me gone, do you?" It was a teasing jest, but inside, Hiro was half-expecting his brother to reply with a curt 'yes'.

What was actually said came out quite differently. "Of course not, but I don't want you to feel tied down."

"I don't," Hiro quietly replied before the engine started up and they took to the road. "I've lived in San Fransokyo all my life, and I'm not eager to leave."

"There's more to the world than our little city, Hiro."

"Well, the last time I left, I ended up in a coma."

* * *

"You enjoying that caffeine high, Tadashi?"

There was a soft cry of pain, then silence.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Why did you let me do this?"

Hiro shook his head, bringing his hand up to cover his face. "I didn't. You wouldn't let me convince you otherwise."

"I'm like 95 percent certain that some form of internal bleeding is going on. I'm having serious cramping right now, a blinding headache, my back is killing me…"

GoGo and Honey Lemon froze midstep as they were walking past the room, then walked in. "You okay, Tunnel Vision?"

"No, I'm in pain, and for some reason I'm also emotional and irritated at everything. Or anyone." This was said with a slight crying noise, lower lip jutting out and trembling, as Tadashi was curled up on the floor in pain.

Honey Lemon leaned over, murmuring something, causing GoGo to force herself from laughing. Hiro glanced at them inquisitively, then rolled his eyes and turned back. "He mixed together three Five Hour Energies, a Red Bull, and espresso."

In response, GoGo quietly walked to Tadashi's side, a grin flitting across her features for a moment. "You're going to be fine, Tunnel Vision."

"How would you know?! You've never gone through this!"

At this, Honey Lemon had to excuse herself from the room.

"C'mon, Tadashi. Woman up."

"No, you woman up."

Something suddenly clicked in Hiro's brain, and he silently walked out of the room to crack up with Honey Lemon.

"At least I figured something out."

GoGo tilted her head inquisitively. "And?'

"I've narrowed down the Fujita's hiding place to one of three places across town." Tadashi winced as he forced himself to sit up. "All three are known gang rendezvous, especially for the Fujitas. If we don't find them at one of them, it would be a simple matter to figure out where they are."

"So, we're going incognito?"

Hiro walked in, having heard the conversation between gasps for breath, and forced back the tears of mirth in his eyes. "Well, she is our aunt, I'd like to go."

"I've got that covered. It'll be you, me, and the girls."

GoGo quirked an eyebrow. "Why us?"

At this, Tadashi grinned. "You might need to woman up a little bit."

"If you're implying what I think you're implying-"

"And Honey Lemon will have to work on her skating."

"Hamada, I swear, if you're asking us to masquerade as murderous roller she-devils, I'm going to-"

"Smile and say that you'll do it? In a polite voice, because Aunt Cass is one of the most important things in the world to me?"

Hiro could tell from where he was standing that this would not be the case.

"Woman up, GoGo."

And Tadashi knew that he had her.

"Fine. And maybe when you're off your man-period, we can talk about this in greater detail."

"Agreed."

"And by that, I mean I'm going to punch you in the face."

"Love you too."

* * *

 _ **[You see, Ness, I said I wanted to write something about that. I also said a one-shot wouldn't work. Amused?]**_

 _ **[Okay, so headcanons:**_

 _ **-GoGo has history with the Fujitas. She used to street race, and when they used her ideas for their own rollerblades, she flipped her lid. More on that in a later chapter, though.**_

 _ **-Hiro was an extrovert before the fire. The trauma caused him to become very, very introverted as a result, to the point that sharing anything that's going on in his head is painful.**_

 _ **-Mochi is not a very picky cat when it comes to Aunt Cass. Anyone else, however...**_

 _ **-Tadashi did NOT return to SFIT after the events of Falling, Shatter. This is due to the fact that he is still legally dead and anyone who knew him(which is everybody) would have a heart attack.**_

 _ **-Tadashi has an enormous sweet tooth. If it has sugar, hide it.**_

 _ **-Tadashi also has a surprisingly low tolerance to high amounts of sugar. This has caused many a disaster.**_

 _ **Well, that is it for now. Oblivious, out! *throws self out of frame***_


	6. Never Quite Thought We Could Lose It All

_**[Hello again, readers! Geez, it's been a while since I last posted. Ten whole days. Yikes. I'm so sorry! Like I said, I've been getting over a major case of Writer's Block. I have completely ditched any motivation to write an outline, and as a result, I am kind of scatterbrained. I'm sorry!**_

 _ **So, in terms of reviews:**_

 _ **Zebrafinch: Haha... Hiro doesn't speak cat. But one trait a lot of cat owners have(myself included) is that we can kind of tell what our kitties want. Like, my cat will come up to me and start meowing. If I know for a fact that her food and water bowls are full, it'll sometimes morph into a full-blown shouting match: 'MEOW!' 'MEOW!' 'MEOW!' '...Okay, you win.' But most of the time it's because she needs someone to fill her bowl again. I can usually tell.**_

 _ **WELL I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. I THOUGHT ABOUT TADAHONEY BUT THEN ANOTHER HEADCANON CAME TO ME AND I THOUGHT 'EH, NO, THIS ONE WORKS BETTER.'**_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: Yeah, while he's very smart most of the time, when he's sleep deprived, his line of thinking is very hard to follow. xD**_

 ** _*shoves chapter in your general direction* Here ya go!_**

 ** _Tears Fall: I AM SORRY FOR BREAKING YOUR RIBS. ON A SCALE OF ONE TO TEN- *brick'd*_**

 ** _Well, yes, but also because of feels. I feel evil today. -u-_**

 ** _Th3Ph4nt0miz3r: Thanks! I shall try to update a little faster. Dx_**

 ** _DaydreamDepartment: Hehe... Yeah, that is a commonly used phrase among the women of our household. 'Your brother's on his man-period, try to stay out of his way.' xD_**

 ** _Yes, they are at Fred's house. I probably should have specified. I'm sorry!_**

 ** _...I can sort of see the resemblance, yeah. .u._**

 ** _Tony18: No kidding. In my headcanon, ever since the fire, Hiro finds it very hard to reach out to anyone for any reason whatsoever, because especially after dragging Tadashi's friends into the Big Hero 6, he thinks of himself as a burden-although nobody else on the team would ever consider him as such._**

 ** _*laughing* *because I'm evil and I shall not tell you why*_**

 ** _Yeah, I considered making it extremely humorous, but... Overall, I think this just worked out better._**

 ** _TheUltimateFangirl2020: I'm glad you enjoyed it!_**

 ** _I don't know why everyone else thinks so, but I have a very practical reason for my headcanon. In the previous story(which I am assuming you have read), Hiro was trapped in the rubble of a burning building, resulting in a few nasty scars-including a deep, ragged gash that goes from just above his left eyebrow to the bottom of his right cheekbone. It isn't very pretty, so he got the piercings to distract from that. I'm like 87% certain that I put the entire headcanon somewhere after the third chapter, so if this doesn't clarify enough, I shall direct you to there. I put my headcanons for each chapter at the end of each chapter. They're not necessary to understand the plot, but they make the whole thing seem more interesting in my opinion!_**

 ** _Thank you!_**

 ** _Everyone else: Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

 _"With our backs to the wall,_

 _The darkness could fall,_

 _We never quite thought we could lose it all._

 _Ready, aim, fire!_

 _An empire falls in just one day-_

 _You close your eyes and the glory fades._

 _Ready, aim, fire away!"_

 _-Ready, Aim, Fire by Imagine Dragons_

* * *

"I look ridiculous."

"C'mon, Honey Lemon, you look fine."

"I look like Lady Gaga."

"That's kind of the point."

"I hate this so much."

Hiro forced back a smirk as the reluctant college student skated out of the dressing room, dressed in fishnet stockings, a shorter skirt, and a leather jacket over a bright pink tanktop. Her hair was up in a ponytail fastened with a few bobby pins and a sakura blossom pin, and she clutched a bright pink parasol with metal spokes.

"I look like a streetwalker."

"I wish I could disagree, but…"

It was at this point that Tadashi strolled in, the effects of his… erm… 'Man-period', as it had been affectionately named by the rest of the team ebbing away into almost nothing. He glanced up once, then froze, doing a double take.

"...What exactly are you wearing?"

"Fujita garb. I look ridiculous," Honey Lemon whimpered.

"Agreed."

A pink parasol with metal spokes sailed through the air and hit Tadashi on the nose, causing him to fall over, crying out in pain.

"...I guess agreeing with everything a woman says is NOT the correct approach."

"No kidding, Tunnel Vision. C'mon, it's just a parasol. Woman up," GoGo replied as she skated into the room.

Tadashi sat up, wincing as he rubbed his nose. "It's a metal parasol."

"No durr, Rudolph."

At this, the elder Hamada's hand flew to his nose. "Is it red?"

"No, Tadashi, I called you Rudolph for no reason whatsoever."

"Can you guys get a room?"

The two squabbling college students whirled around to blink in surprise at the bored teenager.

"What?" Hiro was the picture of innocence. "I'm just saying, if you guys are going to argue like an old married couple, could you do it somewhere else?"

In response, the aforementioned couple moved ever so slightly away from each other.

"Hiro, that is not what that phrase means."

"I'm aware of that, Tadashi. I'm not five."

"You sure?" The previous sentence was punctuated with the sound of a bubble popping, revealing a frown tugging at GoGo's mouth. "You definitely seem like it."

Hiro rolled his eyes, leaning over to grab a small device that he clipped onto his ear. "Okay, you guys have your earpieces?"

GoGo nodded, pushing back a lock of black hair to reveal a metal loop curled around her ear, while Tadashi in turn moved a piece of white hair to remind himself that yes, it was there. "Yep. We're good, bro."

"What about Honey Lemon?"

"Got it," she replied as she attempted to skate effortlessly past the couch.

GoGo winced, and moved to help her as the young woman tripped over her own feet once more. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Honey replied, standing up, and shaking out her blonde ponytail, her bangs held firmly in place by the bright pink pins. She almost tripped again, her skirt doing her no favors. "I'm just ready for all of this to be over."

Hiro let out a long breath of frustration. "Likewise. You have your chem-balls on standby?"

Honey Lemon smiled in response, leaning over to press a button on the side of her skate. Immediately, the wheels morphed into spheres, ready to be plucked off and inserted into the miniature chemical lab that resided in her closed parasol. "Ready to deploy."

"GoGo?"

The mentioned superhero nodded, pulling off the two end spokes and gently flicking her wrist, smiling as they expanded, becoming spoked disks similar to those on her skates.

"Excellent. And of course, Tadashi has his darts."

There was no response.

"...Right?"

"...I guess I must have forgotten them upstairs."

"Unbelievable."

Tadashi let an uncomfortable smile flit across his features, then straightened up. "Okay, so which location are we hitting first?"

Hiro shrugged in response. "We wouldn't know, as you haven't revealed the locations yet."

"Right… Here." Tadashi reached into the satchel by the sofa, pulling out a map of San Fransokyo. "Okay. Here, here, and… Here."

"Wait, show me that second one again?"

Tadashi's fingertip traveled to a small building in one of the rougher parts of their dear hometown. "Here?"

"Yeah. GoGo, the info hub?"

Honey Lemon and Tadashi frowned. "The… what?"

"I'll tell you guys when we get there," Hiro promised, dismissing them. "What do you think, GoGo?"

A bubble popped, then she smirked. "We're going there."

* * *

"Do I really have to wear this getup?"

The younger Hamada pushed his mask back into place as he smirked at his older brother. In response, Tadashi pulled at the spiked collar tight around his throat. "I didn't hear GoGo complaining about her disguise. I'm not complaining, either."

"That's because you look cool," Tadashi growled. "In the meantime, I look like a delinquent."

"Oh, as opposed to the three layers of clothing you usually wear? In San Fransokyo, of all places?"

Self-consciously, Tadashi briefly glanced down at his arms before looking back up. "It looks cool."

"It looks ridiculous."

"Get a room, guys."

Simultaneously, the brothers turned to shoot GoGo a glare that could have melted through concrete, before Tadashi returned to complaining about the leather jacket and eyeliner-which really didn't look that bad, if you squinted… and were drunk…

"Okay boys, break it up. We're here."

Tadashi paused to stick his tongue out at his brother before falling completely silent. His hand reached up to brush the loop of metal circling his ear, assuring himself that it was still there.

"Okay, so remember the plan-GoGo, Honey, you two go try to mingle with the Fujitas and get some info about why they've taken Aunt Cass."

The two girls nodded, then Honey Lemon paused. "But what will you guys be doing?"

Hiro forced back a small smirk. "We'll be going around and getting chummy with the remains of Yama's gang-Thanks for that by the way, Dashi-nii."

"For what?"

"Taking out the big guy."

Tadashi inwardly winced, but nodded slowly. "No problem, I guess."

"He was a jerk. He tried to beat me up."

"I remember."

"He was also a terrible botfighter."

GoGo let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Now that's hardly fair, Shorty. I've seen you botfight. You're just really, really good at it."

"Why, thank you," Hiro replied, running a hand through his too-long hair, winding up with his fingers tangled in the mess atop his head.

Tadashi blinked in surprise, tilting his head ever so slightly. "When did you see him botfight?"

For an uncomfortable moment, the two shared an awkward glance, Hiro begging her not to respond and GoGo demanding a better answer. Then, miraculously, the door to the dingy building opened.

"Well, well. If it isn't the Glitch. And Razor, too."

"Nice to see you, Ralph," Hiro replied coolly. "Sharks in the water?"

"This place is practically infested with them," The large man in the middle of the entrance chuckled. "I see you brought company."

Hiro turned, pausing as his brother's furious expression came into his line of sight, then continued as if nothing was wrong. "Ralph, these are my friends-Scorch and Cam."

The three waved in response as Hiro pointed to them in order-Tadashi first, then Honey Lemon.

Ralph briefly raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "Well, if they're with you, Glitch…"

"They are."

"I wouldn't let them in if I didn't trust you. Don't trust new people much."

"You let me in," Hiro reminded the older man, and Ralph laughed in response.

"That I did. You looked too small to be much harm."

At this Tadashi snorted with laughter, earning him another glare.

"Well, don't want to miss the fighting now, do we?"

Hiro nodded respectfully, then stepped through the entrance as he gestured to his friends to follow. GoGo did so without question, Tadashi and Honey Lemon briefly hesitating before walking into the structure.

As soon as they did, the barrage of questions caused Hiro to put his hands to his ears. "One at a time, guys! Honey Lemon?"

"Why Cam?"

Hiro smiled at her, the gap in his teeth flashing for a moment. "Chem is short for Chemistry, which is your major, and it sounds like the name Cam. Clever, right?"

"Not really."

"Everyone's a critic. Tadashi?"

"You've been botfighting?!"

Hiro let out a soft sigh of frustration. "Well, sort of. It's not the kind of botfighting you think."

Suspicion tugged at one of Tadashi's eyebrows. "Is there some kind of different botfighting I'm not aware of?"

"Why, yes, actually," his younger brother replied. "There is. There isn't a name for it, but essentially the betting is different. They don't bet with money here."

"What do they bet with?"

"Information," GoGo replied with a smile. "That's why Hiro and I frequent here so much. It's our underground network."

Hiro glanced at his team mate nervously, silently gesturing for her to please be quiet, but of course she didn't see.

"Hiro comes for the botfighting, and I come to participate in the races. Keeps me in shape, and of course we both get vital information."

"GoGo…"

Finally, she turned to look at the younger Hamada, and the pure fear in his eyes.

"...So you two have been participating in illegal betting, with gang members."

And suddenly the reason for his terror became evident.

"Hey, Glitch!"

Tadashi turned to narrow his eyes at the person calling Hiro, causing his brother to almost melt with relief as his gaze was directed towards someone else. The redhead who had spoken, however, seemed unfazed as he elbowed through the crowd to speak to the masked teen.

"Glitch, there's a huge match going on. You got Sukobot with you?"

"Do I ever come without it?" Hiro smiled, a little nervously as he avoided his brother's eyes. "Who's playing?"

"Well, we've got Neko and Kitsune," the redhead replied, listing off botfighters on his fingers. "Then we have Jet, Phoenix, and Otto. And of course, old Kuso."

Tadashi almost smiled at the last one. Almost. "Kuso?"

Hiro forced himself not to laugh as he explained. "His name is actually Kuro. He's a jerk, though, so someone 'accidentally' called him Kuso, and the name has stuck."

"Why do I get the feeling that this 'someone' was wearing a mask and called himself Glitch?"

"Shut up, Scorch."

"So," the redhead finally said, clapping his hands together. "Who are your friends?"

"You know Razor, obviously, and these two are Scorch and Cam."

"Pleasure," 'Scorch' said with a subtle growl at the back of his throat. "And you are?"

"Koji's the name," he said, bowing slightly. "And betting's the game. We haven't dealt in anything as common as money here for the past three years. I'm sure Glitch has explained how this works to you?"

"I gave them the bare minimum," Hiro admitted. "Could you explain a little better?"

"You've got it," Koji said with a smile. "The match is over there, if you're eager to get started."

"Thanks," 'Glitch' said gratefully, moving to the area that his friend had gestured to, pulling a robot that highly resembled his old Megabot from his trenchcoat.

Tadashi gave his brother a look before following Koji to the epicenter of action-a room that opened up into a large garage, several young women on skates gathered into a circle. GoGo smirked and skated towards them, dragging Honey Lemon with her, and skidded as two moved to allow her into the circle.

* * *

"So, in essentials, it works the same as one might expect a normal botfight, race, poker game, et cetera to go down. Beforehand however, the challengers each put in their tidbits of information."

"How does that work?"

Koji smirked, holding up a piece of paper. "You write a quick summary of the information on one of these slips. Like say, for example, I had the address of a well known gang leader, or the floorplans of a bank, or the identities of one of, say, the Big Hero 7."

Tadashi almost froze at the last listed item, turning to look at the young man and forcing himself to keep a straight face. "Okay?"

"I would write something like 'Gang leader's address', or 'Wildfire's Identity', then hand it to the opponent. They would read it, and if they were interested, they would nod and the betting would commence."

Tadashi considered this, then slowly nodded. "I guess that makes sense. What if the info wasn't something you would be interested in?"

"Then you would say so, and you could go somewhere more private to negotiate." Koji gestured to the slip of paper again. "Now, if I were looking for a specific piece of information, I would write 'Request: et cetera'. If they had that piece of information, they would make a request in return, or ask what kind of info you had in exchange."

"And if they didn't like any of the info you had?"

"Then you don't play. Simple as that."

Tadashi nodded thoughtfully, suddenly finding the idea of an information hub simultaneously useful and dangerous. "And is information like 'The Big Hero 7's Identities' the norm around here? I'm kind of curious as to what those might be."

"Of course not," Koji replied with hearty laughter. "If it was, there wouldn't exactly be a superhero team any more, now would there?"

"...No, I suppose not."

"There is a rumor, though, that once Glitch was up against a man with some information that he really needed."

And suddenly, the elder Hamada's blood ran cold. "And?"

"This guy was trying to mess with him, holding it over Glitch's head until finally he snapped, and actually offered the identity of Twilight." Koji shook his head in admiration.

 _Unbelievable._

"What happened?"

"Glitch won, of course. I'd hate to see what would have happened if his bluff had been called, though. But I get the feeling that guy knows more than he ever lets on," he admitted. "According to him, most of the info he bets isn't real, but he never loses, so it's not a problem."

"And no one comes after someone else for the information?"

The redhead shook his head. "Oh, they go after each other here. It's a dangerous gig, obviously, but only the challengers know what information the other has to offer, so as to keep everyone from going after someone with a particularly juicy bit of info."

"Got it," Tadashi said quietly, seething with fury at his younger brother. "So, I've got to get back to Glitch. Where did you say he was?"

Koji smiled and led him to a ring, where a young man with a shock of bright blue hair was sitting, a smirk tugging at his lips, skillfully manipulating an artistic robot covered in spikes and saws.

On the other side of the room sat the masked figure he had been searching for, black hair falling over his eyepieces, with three unassuming magnetic bearing servos piled on top of each other, the face a little more refined.

"Two bots enter, one bot leaves."

Tadashi stood back, having never actually seen his brother at work, and felt his eyes almost pop out of his head at how easily the simple servos completely demolished his opponent's spiked pot. Now, he could see how the 'unassuming' spare parts had become a refined lethal weapon. And once again, he was amazed at his brother's genius.

Of course, that didn't diminish his silent fury at the subtle… illegalness of it all.

'Glitch' got up after demolishing the opposing robot, and moved to take a piece of paper that the blue-haired young man held out grudgingly.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"Wish I could say the same."

Tadashi saw a faint flicker of a grin as Hiro's mask slipped, then he pushed it back into place, and the professional, sinister figure of 'Glitch' made it's way back.

Hiro opened up the piece of paper, read it quickly, then silently pocketed it before catching a glimpse of Tadashi's disapproving frown.

"Hey, nii-chan."

"How is this any less dangerous than normal botfighting?"

"It's not. It's more fun, though, and more useful."

"You bet with your identity?!"

"...You heard about that?"

Still frowning, Tadashi grabbed Hiro's wrist and all but dragged him into a slightly less populated area. "Of course I heard about that! What were you thinking?! What if you had lost?!"

Hiro smirked behind his mask and leaned against the wall. "But I didn't, and I never do."

"Would you really take that risk, though?" The elder Hamada put his hand up to rub the bridge of his nose, internally groaning with frustration. "What if they came after you for the information? What if they had tortured you because of it?"

Hiro's smirk fell away-not that his brother could see it behind the mask-and he stood up straight. "Well, that's why GoGo and I always go together-so that we are never caught without a defense."

"Say GoGo was taken out. What then?"

Hiro didn't answer, except to look down at the suddenly very interesting concrete floor and gently scuff it with his boot. "...I dunno."

"You don't know?"

"No."

"You didn't think about how much your decisions would affect everyone else?"

Hiro winced at the last statement, particularly hurt, then took a deep breath. "Well, maybe I was just taking a leaf out of my big brother's book."

Tadashi actually flinched, taking a step away. For a moment, pain filled his russet brown eyes, which quickly morphed into white-hot anger as he took a few steps away, shaking his head. "We'll finish this later, okay? Let's just get in and out of here as fast as we can." This said, he walked away, muttering something that sounded particularly like _Unbelievable._

The younger Hamada stood in silence for several moments, torn between guilt and sadness, finally pushing it back as he moved to follow his brother.

* * *

"Our winner, still undefeated-Glitch!"

The masked figure got to his feet and took the slip of paper, looking it over before nodding and slipping it into his pocket.

"Who's next?" The statement was made almost flippantly, although Hiro's eyes were darting from side to side underneath the black and green painted mask. Finally, a young woman with a mop of bright pink hair sat down at the edge of the arena, sliding a piece of paper across. Hiro picked it up, carefully opening it and blinked in surprise at the request.

 _'Request: Identities of one or more of the Big Hero 7.'_

Hiro briefly considered taking her up on the offer before looking up at his older brother.

 _"You didn't think about how much your decisions would affect everyone else?"_

Hiro sighed, and shook his head before sliding his own slip across, which read something along the lines of _'Request: Information on Fujita headquarters.'_

The young woman blinked in surprise, then got to her feet and gestured for him to follow. He briefly glanced back to look at Tadashi, then seeing no dissent, moved to retreat to a more secluded area.

"Are you suicidal?"

Hiro tilted his head slightly, seeing the complete incredulousness in her expression. "No, why?"

"Do you really want to mess with the Fujitas?"

"Not exactly. They have something I want back."

"You want it back badly enough to go into their headquarters?!" The woman almost shrieked, then stopped as she remembered where she was. "I wouldn't suggest you do that."

"But you have the info?"

She sighed, then put her hand to her forehead. "I do. I wouldn't suggest you go in there, however."

Hiro smirked underneath his mask. "That's none of your concern. What do you want in return?"

"I already told you," she replied. "The identity of one of the Big Hero 7."

"I don't have that information, try again."

The young woman rolled her eyes in response, a mirthless chuckle escaping her lips. "You're lying. They say you once went too far betting and put up the identity of Twilight."

"I was bluffing," Hiro replied quietly, eyes narrowing. "You don't honestly think that I actually know his identity, do you?"

"I do, actually."

"Don't you think I'd have done something with this information already?"

"Not if they trust you," the woman-whom Hiro strongly suspected was a new Fujita-said quietly. "I think you know exactly who they are, and don't want to tell me because they're close to you."

 _Oh, you have no idea._

"I'm not giving you the location unless you're willing to put up an identity."

Hiro glanced back at the arena, where Tadashi was silently standing.

 _"What if they came after you?"_

 _Oh, but brother dear, I never lose._

Then, after a moment of hesitation, he nodded. "Okay. The location for Twilight's identity."

The Fujita smirked, and nodded in return. "Then we have a deal?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Turning first to walk to the arena, Hiro glanced at Tadashi, whose eyebrows went up in a questioning gaze. _What was that about?_

Hiro smiled, relieved that his brother couldn't see through his mask. _Nothing for you to worry about, nii-chan._

Then, as he sat down, he froze. The Fujita pulled a small communicator from her ponytail shaped as a lily pin, then spoke into it. _"All in."_

Within minutes, the botfighting arena was much more crowded than it had been only moments ago, Fujitas crowded around the usual gang members, all wielding weapons. Hiro glanced nervously from side to side, then ran his fingertips through his hair nervously, gently touching his earpiece as he did so.

 _"Guys, I screwed up big time..."_

* * *

 ** _[Right. Before headcanon time, if you got the Wreck-It Ralph reference, I love you. xD_**

 ** _So..._**

 _ **-While Honey Lemon is very feminine in how she dresses, under no circumstances is she comfortable with revealing too much. This is partially due to her being teased for her pale skin in high school, partially because of some attention she's gotten by the wrong kind of guys, but mostly because as a chemist, she has to dress practically-meaning that exposed skin is easily burned by the wrong combination of chemicals.**_

 _ **-Hiro and GoGo have been masquerading as 'Razor' and 'Glitch' for about two years now. Hiro only got in because Ralph saw a somewhat anxious looking kid standing at about 5'4", trying to get out of the rain. The building is heated, and as soon as Hiro saw the useful alternative to monetary betting, he was hooked. When he saw the races, he just knew that GoGo would love the place as well.**_

 _ **-The entire team has smaller, more easily concealed versions of their weapons that they carry with them in case of an emergency. Tadashi generally has a plasma knife concealed within the plating of his prosthetic, GoGo has several smaller, razor sharp disks that she uses as shurikens. They are blunt until activated, and attach to a bracelet that she wears. Honey Lemon has a smaller chemical factory(not nearly as extensive as her purse, but still pretty impressive) that works as a coin purse as well. The little plastic bombs are stored on a bracelet, necklace, or occasionally earrings. Wasabi has two wristbands that look like bangles, but actually house smaller versions of his plasma blades. Fred doesn't even need to conceal most of the time, just sticking a small flamethrower that Hiro made him underneath his beanie. It has never been used, and the entire team prays that it will stay that way.**_

 _ **-[Trigger Warning: Cutting, Suicidal Thoughts] There is a reason that Tadashi always wears three layers of clothing everywhere he goes. In high school, while he may not have been bullied like his little brother, he had a severe inferiority complex. He never thought himself deserving of any praise he got, and sometimes got extremely jealous of how Hiro never had to try for anything, that it always came naturally to him.**_

 _ **Combined with the serious brother complex he had alongside it, Tadashi seriously hated himself for even thinking about Hiro like that, especially since he was struggling with being social, making friends, etc.**_

 _ **As a result, he began self-harming. Hiro never found out, but Aunt Cass confronted him about it when his sleeve was pushed up a little too far while he did dishes. She convinced him to stop, but Tadashi insisted that she not take him to therapy or put him on antidepressants, in fear that Hiro would find out. Instead, Aunt Cass took care of his depression herself, assuring him repeatedly that while he wasn't a prodigy, he was certainly good enough-and that Hiro would never resent him for feeling jealous.**_

 _ **Eventually, his depression faded entirely, but his habit of wearing long sleeves everywhere, and especially multiple layers, in order to hide his scars, crossed over into adulthood.**_

 _ **(Bonus Headcanon: Hiro adopted the same habit, not because he self-harmed, but to hide the bruises that came from his peers after classes. (Of course, Tadashi always found out anyways, and as soon as he found the people who had hurt his precious baby brother, they never spoke to either of the Hamada brothers again.))**_

 _ **-Koji is the sort of guy who knows everyone at the info hub, knows all of the happenings, and takes care of the people who are new. Like the Hagrid of the info hub. "Firs' Timers here!"**_

 _ **-As soon as he got back into botfighting, Hiro made some upgrades to Megabot... But more on that later. ]**_

 _ **[Thanks for sticking around this long and putting up with my inconsistency! Oblivious out~! *throws self out of frame*]**_


	7. Walked Into the Flames

**_[Hello, okay, I know this is shorter and I have been sucking at updates, but it's way too late for me to still be awake, so I'm going to skip some of the reviews. I'm sorry! Only a few urgent questions will be answered, then I'll add the song and a few headcanons. Once again, sorry, but I need to keep it concise._**

 ** _Zebrafinch: Because I like killing people. Muahaha._**

 ** _Tatina Gaudent: It's spelled Hamada-Sorry, I'm a stickler for spelling. Anyways, this story is a sequel! Unfortunately, this probably ruined the entire first story for you. Sorry! The story is called 'The Little Pieces Falling, Shatter'. You can look it up, or find it on my account. I hope you read it!_**

 ** _Th3403: Okay, thank you so much for the shortening of the name... I'm going to honest I found it extremely irritating to have to continually go back and 'Am I spelling this right?!' haha... Thank you!_**

 ** _The song for today is 'Ghost Town' by Adam Lambert._**

* * *

 _'Saw all of the saints_

 _Lock up the gates_

 _I could not enter_

 _Walked into the flames_

 _Called out your name_

 _But there was no answer_

 _And now I know my heart is a ghost town.'_

 _-Ghost Town by Adam Lambert_

* * *

 ** _"Hiro, what did you do this time?!"_**

The aforementioned teen winced as GoGo's furious voice came in over the comlink.

"I… May or may not have bet with my identity, and we might be paying for it."

 _"Hiro?"_

"Yes?"

 _"You're an idiot."_

"I know."

'Scorch's absolutely livid gaze hit Hiro in the back of the head like a laser. Except perhaps the laser might not have been as painful. At least death would be quick, not an agonizingly slow and painful demise by the tongue lashing of a lifetime, delivered by none other than Stabby McBurn Victim.

"I always knew I was going to die someday," Hiro muttered as he fiddled with his controller. "I just never thought my own brother would be the one to kill me."

"Don't be a drama queen."

"Tell Aunt Cass I love her?"

"No one's dying. Not yet, anyways," Tadashi half snapped, half growled. "Now, you're going to win this botfight, we're going to find out the Fujita hideout. No one's identity is going to be found out. We're finding Aunt Cass, and as soon as we get home, I'm going to kick your-"

"Language, Tadashi."

"Shut up."

"Aren't you so glad that I'm an expert botfighter now?" The irony was not lost on the younger Hamada as his fingertips easily manipulated the smooth controller, magnetic bearing servos twirling obediently. "I mean, sure, I guess if I hadn't become a botfighter, maybe I wouldn't be in here in the first place, but hey, who ever said associating myself with gang members would never come in handy?"

In response, Hiro received a light slap across the back of his head. "Knucklehead."

"Nerd."

 _"Get a room, guys. Where are you?"_

"Well, we're botfighting. Where do you think?"

 _"We'll be there in a moment. I have to help Honey Lemon out of this bush."_

* * *

"Two bots enter: One bot leaves."

"Have you considered what will happen after the battle? Everyone here seems to have some sort of personal vendetta against you."

"Not me. Twilight. Or rather, the Big Hero 7. They don't like us, Tadashi."

"No kidding."

"Ready?" The voice of a young woman in fishnet stockings and a shorter skirt carried over the howls for the brothers' blood, yet only vaguely piercing the haze that had settled over the younger.

"You have your darts ready in case this goes south?"

"Of course."

"Set?"

Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out, an icy tingle running down Hiro's back. _Oh. Oh, no._

"Go!"

Within moments, the young Fujita's bot became charged with electricity, sparks trailing from where it's sharp blades touched the floor. And for the first time since Hiro had started botfighting, he was worried.

"Hey."

The teenager's cognac eyes shot up to meet deep russet, concerned and devoid of all previous anger.

"Breathe."

The sparks came closer as the sinister bot came closer, suddenly looking very dangerous.

Hiro took a deep breath.

"Sukobot…"

He looked up for his brother's approval, and allowed himself a small smirk as Tadashi nodded.

 _"Destroy."_

In response to the awakening command, the dark servos morphed, twisting, separating, becoming millions of tiny, microscopic versions of the larger pieces.

Nanobots.

The tiny pieces rubbed against each other, the friction and electricity already coursing through each bot and connecting to the next letting the oxygen around each little bot become consumed by heat

But of course, the onlookers didn't see that. They saw millions of tiny robots becoming a sinister figure, thin limbs protruding from the main body of the mass, until it developed sharp spines down its back and caught fire.

"There is a reason I named it Sukobot, brother mine."

The Fujita's jaw almost hit the ground as she registered the flaming mass of black, then let the blades in her robot twirl skillfully. "Right. Let's do this. I'm getting that identity, Glitch."

"In your dreams," Hiro snarled in response.

The black mass of nanobots threw an arm out, long spindly fingertips hardening into hard, razor sharp needle-points. It pulled the needles in front of it's face-if it would be called a face-and something that sounded vaguely like a growl emitted from the mass. The black spines suddenly disconnected from the mass it was connected to as the robot threw a hand out, needles sinking into metal. The spiked robot stumbled in its circling the sinister figure, then returned, moving just ever so slightly faster.

As the robot continued its circling, Hiro's lips curled into a confused frown. _What is it-?_

Before the thought was finished, Honey Lemon and GoGo skated up to the arena to watch a single spiked arm shoot out to strike the mass of nanobots, and the entire robot collapsed into a small pile of black ashes.

The entire room froze in shock, Hiro not least of them.

 _I… I lost._

The younger Hamada's head immediately swiveled to look at his older brother, whose jaw was on the floor with shock-metaphorically of course, because that is not physically possible.

"You… You just…?"

GoGo was equally as shocked, but then instantly nudged Honey Lemon and gestured to the parasol. Honey Lemon nodded in understanding, then slowly leaned down to pluck a small sphere from her skate.

"Well? I'm waiting."

Tadashi and Hiro looked at each other uneasily, then the younger ran a hand through his hair again.

 _"Put on your masks. Then, on my mark, attack."_

Hiro slowly got up, smiling to himself as a white hockey mask slid over his scars. He didn't have the time to see if Honey and GoGo were doing the same, when he walked over to the Fujita with his heart pounding.

 _Here goes._

The Fujita smirked and stood up, walking to meet him at the center of the arena. Hiro gestured to the hair by his ear, and she moved her own hair away so as to keep her hearing intact. He leaned in, tilting his head just so, and allowed himself a small smirk at her unsuspecting expression.

 _"It's me. Surprise."_

The unsuspecting expression vanished, and Hiro took a step back to admire the complete and utter shock.

Then he punched her in the face.

Almost instantly, the entire room erupted into chaos. Thugs and more Fujitas moved to protect the young woman with the black eye, while Tadashi pulled out five small energy darts in quick succession. Two, three, four of their attackers went down, and two more fell to the floor as ice coated the ground. Yet another fell as razor-sharp electromag disks sliced through his Achilles Tendon.

Hiro felt someone grab his wrist, and spun to kick them in the shins-no, don't laugh, that boy had on freaking combat boots, and his kicks hurt-but stopped when he saw a familiar white hockey mask. He let himself be dragged away from the fighting, and winced when he heard _"Get them! They're part of the Big Hero 7!"_

"Hiro, I swear, if we die because of this-"

"We're not going to die, Tadashi."

"I find that somewhat hard to believe, because you also said that this plan would work." Tadashi made a point of looking around dramatically. "I'm not seeing much success anywhere… Unless you're hiding it?"

"Shut up."

"Is it hidden somewhere underneath that huge trenchcoat?"

"Shut up, Tadashi."

The elder Hamada sighed, then fell silent as he heard a large explosion that could only have been one of Honey Lemon's chemical bombs. Hiro pressed the button on the side of his comlink, forcing himself not to shout.

 _"Baymax! Backup, now!"_

 _"I am currently on my way, Hiro. Will you be requiring medical assistance?"_

 _"Nah, bud, we're good."_

 _"The timbre of your voice and the fact that you are breathing very hard implies otherwise. Are you in the middle of a stressful event?"_

Hiro wanted to hit his head against a wall for a moment that probably lasted longer than it should have. " _Yes, Baymax. I am."_

 _"Understood. I will bring gummy bears."_

Before Hiro could reply to the somewhat bizarre comment, he felt himself shoved from behind, and lay sprawled across the concrete.

"Who would have thought that our little Glitch was in fact the leader of the Big Hero 7? Although, really…" The younger Hamada turned over to get a better glimpse of his attacker, wincing as Tadashi helped him to his feet.

The young Fujita who had somehow managed to beat him- _him!_ -in a botfight stood with a jaunty smirk written across her lips. "We should have guessed it a while ago. That Sukobot does resemble Twilight's microbots."

"How did you even beat the nanobots?!" This comment came from a much surprised Tadashi, eyes wide in disbelief. "I mean, shouldn't they have just reformed…?"

"They would have, yes," the Fujita replied, her smile never diminishing as two of her team mates, looking very much roughed-up, skated to her side. "Luckily, our benefactor made us a bot that emits EMPs."

The brothers exchanged a brief glance behind their hockey masks of _Are you freaking kidding me why didn't you think of that Hiro_ and _Well most of these people are idiots how was I supposed to know that someone actually had some semblance of intelligence_ and so forth.

"So…" The young woman to their first opponent's right had a soft lilt to her voice, a purr that make a shiver run down Hiro's spine. "If you're Twilight… Then this here must be Eclipse? And I'm assuming that Razor and Cam are Comet and Dewdrop."

"So you're not a complete moron, then," the teenager all but snarled. "Then you know that you're not getting out of this without us figuring out the Fujitas' hideout."

"Oh, I think we are," the first one replied. "And I think you're coming with us, Glitch."

Before either of them could react, her hand reached out to grab the younger's wrist, twisting it until he cried out in pain, pulling him to his knees in front of her. Almost instantly, Tadashi moved to stop them but froze as a blade was pressed to his brother's throat.

"One more step and he dies."

Time slowed to a halt as both parties waited for the other to make a move, then Tadashi allowed himself a small smirk underneath his mask.

 _Bad move._

He slowly took off his leather gloves, revealing two large bangles that tightened into armbands as soon as he pressed a button. Within seconds, a small chamber opened up, and twin snakes of barbed metal wire slithered out, hissing.

"N-Nii-chan? What-"

"Put him down, or you'll live to regret it."

"Eclipse, we took those out for a reason-" Hiro was cut off as the blade nipped at the skin of his throat, and fell silent, praying that his captors would do the smart thing.

Unfortunately, they were not as intelligent as the brothers had previously assumed. "Make us."

"I was rather hoping you'd say that." The wire stopped it's hissing as the six foot long whips came to their end. Tadashi casually flicked his wrists, tilting his head with a purely sinister look in his eye that their attackers couldn't see through the mask.

And then the whips glowed with fire.

"Go on, have a go… If you think you're hard enough."

Before the first Fujita could even react, her knife hand had a barbed, flaming whip wrapped around it. She let out a sharp scream, dropping the blade, before she was pulled to her knees. Not one to waste opportunity, Hiro hastily scrambled to his feet and went to stand by his brother. The whip loosened and the flames vanished.

As the remaining two women quickly glanced at each other and bolted, the first clutched her burnt and bleeding wrist to her stomach, sobbing in pain. She wasn't even able to quickly react as the elder Hamada knelt beside her and looked her hard in the face.

"Now tell me. Where is the hideout?"

Still blubbering, it took the Fujita several seconds before she could even stammer out an answer.

"B-Behind- Behind Warehouse Number Five. Down by the docks."

"Thank you." Tadashi got to his feet, gently taking Hiro's wrist and taking note of how he winced. "C'mon, _Twilight_ , we have a hideout to raid."

* * *

As they reached the door and the fighting began to quiet down just slightly, two figures skated out the door in front of them, skidding to a halt.

"What happened to Hiro?"

"Long story. We know where the hideout is."

GoGo only nodded in response, smiling as Baymax finally landed in front of the building.

"The authorities have been contacted."

"And good timing, too," Tadashi replied quietly, looking back at a redhead- _Isn't that Hiro's friend Koji?_ -run out of the building with a long gash across his forehead. He tried to ignore the look of complete betrayal cast in their direction as Hiro was hoisted onto the robot, then clambered up beside him. "Things are getting a little out of hand here."

As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, Hiro quickly reached up to take off the mask. "Tadashi, what was that?"

"They were flame whips. You designed them, remember?" Tadashi looked around, trying to avoid the clarifying of the question, but to no avail.

"You know what I mean. You just… snapped. That wasn't you, 'Dashi. What happened?"

There was a silence as the elder Hamada looked very closely at one of the plates of Baymax's armor, then looked up, taking off the white hockey mask as well. "What happened was that I lost you once, and I don't intend to let that happen again."

Frustration welled up in Hiro's chest, and he almost shouted at his brother. "If that Fujita hadn't backed off immediately, you would have killed her!"

"Maybe she shouldn't have threatened my family," Tadashi all but whispered. Then, he shook his head and turned away, refusing to look at the teenager. "This conversation is over, Hiro."

"We're supposed to be the good guys! We can't just go around-"

"I said, _this conversation is over._ "

Suddenly faltering at the stern tone of voice that he had never once heard from his older brother, Hiro fell silent, instead looking down at his sprained wrist and letting his uninjured hand reach up to touch his throat.

 _I don't think it is, Tadashi. I'm not going to let this slide so easily._

* * *

 ** _[Okay, I have to get to sleep on time tonight, so I'll keep the headcanons minimal:_**

 ** _-Tadashi always keeps a slightly smaller and more deadly version of the flame whips on him... Just in case._**

 ** _-Baymax's Superhero Name is Boulder.]_**

 ** _[I'm sorry for the shortness! It's late and I need to sleep... Oblivious Out~!]_**


	8. Tears That Still Drip Sore

_**[Hello again, darling readers! I'm so sorry to be showing up so late! This is truly unacceptable, I'm aware. But...**_

 _ **Unfortunately, I have some bad news. You see, I was at camp the weekend before last. While I was up there, I twisted my ankle pretty badly-or so I thought. After being incapable of walking without being in extreme pain(that I weathered through for the most part, because I have a surprisingly high pain tolerance), we went to the doctor to see if we could get anything for it.**_

 _ **Two doctor's visits later, and here's the news. I was born with a skeletal defect that we were unaware of, causing two bones in my feet to be far too long. The part that should not have been there literally broke off, so right now I have a big chunk of bone about the length of the first digit of my thumb stuck in my foot.**_

 _ **I'm going to need surgery to get it out. The surgery will be sometime next week, and I am likely going to be spending a lot of time getting around(as I won't be able to walk for a month afterwards). So, as a result, I probably won't be posting any updates for the next two weeks. I'm really sorry! After that, though, I should be writing more during my recovery period. Hopefully.**_

 _ **Anyways, I'm going to respond to reviews, then I shall leave you to the new chapter!**_

 _ **DaydreamDepartment: No kidding, right? I talked a bit about them in the third chapter(I think?) at the bottom. They were originally taken out(due to Hiro having panic attacks when Tadashi was using them), but Tadashi has always kept them on hand, just in case...**_

 _ **And yeah, that would be extremely painful. Injuries like that are very painful.**_

 _ **And Fred and Wasabi's superhero names are Wildfire and Lightning, if memory serves.**_

 _ **TheUltimateFangirl2020: No kidding, right?**_

 _ **Thank you so much! I'm blushing. No, seriously. I look like a tomato with weird hair. This is your fault.**_

 _ **BigHero6Fan D: Yeah, while Wasabi and Mr. Freddy weren't present, if they were, there would be no more Info Hub.**_

 _ **Aw, thank you!**_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: I know. xD With the armor on, though...**_

 _ **Well, he didn't exactly reveal his identity. No one there knows his name(save GoGo). Yeah, I can't imagine any of them really getting captured, especially considering how Baymax's sensors would find them almost immediately. Also, Tadashi's mother hen instincts would cause the building they were being held in to implode.**_

 _ **Zebrafinch: Haha, nope! I shall elaborate on this later.**_

 _ **Tears Fall: Indeed they are! I could use some right now, in fact...**_

 ** _Likewise. *shamelessly gestures to lack of outline*_**

 ** _BH6FanTadashiIsHere97:(Okay, your name is long, from now on I shall refer to you as BFTIH97, K?)_**

 ** _I'm glad I made you laugh! It's almost as fun as making people cry. (sorrynotsorry)_**

 ** _Tony18: Yeah, I intend to poke at that a little more... I don't think the alter ego of 'Sukochi' was ever as much of an alter ego as they may have thought. Maybe, just maybe... It's always been there._**

 ** _I'd never thought of that. xD It is an amusing picture._**

 ** _Everyone else: Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know how I did! Reviews are tastier than gummy bears, please drop me a few~!_**

 _ **Today's song is 'Cut' by Plumb. Please enjoy!**_

* * *

 _'I'm not a stranger,_

 _No, I am yours._

 _With crippled anger_

 _And tears that still drip sore..._

 _...I may seem crazy_

 _Or painfully shy_

 _But these scars wouldn't be so hidden,_

 _If you would just look me in the eye.'_

 _-Cut, by Plumb_

* * *

Tadashi had finally had enough.

He had no idea why, because while the mission may not have gone as as planned, everyone was alright, they knew where Aunt Cass was, and things seemed to be going their way.

But as soon as the team was reunited, Wasabi and Fred having almost died from the suspense, everyone seemed strangely subdued. Sometimes, GoGo or Honey Lemon would murmur something quickly into the younger Hamadas' ear, who simply nodded plaintively. Everything was so… quiet, and Tadashi couldn't help but feel like it was somehow his fault.

So now, the team sat silently in their meeting room, looking over blueprints that Hiro had printed up and quietly making notes next to some of the more sketchy parts. Nothing was said. No thoughts were shared. Occasionally, someone would glance uneasily in the elder Hamadaa' direction, then quickly look back down at the paper.

Unable to take the tension any more, Tadashi slammed his hands on the table and stood up.

"Is someone finally going to tell me what's going on?! Why isn't anyone talking to me?"

The silence only deepened as the team glanced around, a silent You tell him, No you tell him conversation going on.

Finally, exasperated, Hiro took a deep breath, only to be cut off.

"Not you."

Hiro shrunk back down into silence.

"Anyone else? Honey Lemon?" Her eyes traveled down to her hands in her lap, and Tadashi moved his gaze from her.

"Wasabi? Fred?" When there was no response from either, who had suddenly noticed how interesting the grain of wood in the table was, Tadashi moved to his last resort.

"Okay, GoGo? Are you going to spill?"

"You want me to give it to you straight?"

"Yes."

"You're being a jerk."

All eyes snapped to GoGo, except for Tadashi's, which were already trained on her face. Instead of recoiling or otherwise actively reacting, he merely raised an eyebrow.

"Am I now?"

"You snapped back at the Hub. I understand that you're mad at Hiro and I for going behind your back, but we have never once, besides last night, willingly put ourselves in any danger." As GoGo finished the sentence, she did her best to ignore Hiro's quick intake of breath, quickly covered up by a fit of coughing(obviously faked).

"Regardless-"

"No, Tadashi, there's no 'regardless' here," the Mechanical Engineer shot over the table, eyes narrowed into slits. "We're supposed to be the good guys. We don't use torture tactics to get information out of people. We don't boss around our team mates-"

"He's not just my team mate, he's also my little brother-"

"Which should be even more reason not to do so!" GoGo was raising her voice now, and it was at this moment that Hiro silently got up from his chair and left the room. Seeing his discomfort, Honey Lemon and Wasabi quickly followed him.

"He may be your little brother, but he's also our leader! If anyone should be giving orders, it's him."

"We're all legal adults. He's just a kid, he shouldn't be able to give us orders," Tadashi growled, half to himself.

"Well, obviously you can't handle the job, because you have a couple screws loose."

"I do not," Tadashi retorted, his white-hot gaze almost glowing now. "I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

GoGo felt her own eyebrow travel lazily towards heaven. "Says the man who tortured a Fujita to get the information out of her."

"I didn't torture her because I needed information, I hurt her because she had a knife at Hiro's throat."

"Regardless-"

"Oh, where's miss 'There is no "regardless" here'?" Tadashi's mouth curled into a sneer. "I don't regret what I did."

GoGo's eyes narrowed once more. "We know. That's why we're avoiding you. And we'll do so until we have our kind, thoughtful friend back. We don't want you to go back to being the Sukochi, Hamada."

 _...Okay. That hurt._

The elder Hamadas' white-hot gaze suddenly snapped off as he recoiled. As soon as she said it, he quietly settled back down into his seat, incapable of looking at her again.

"Tadashi, you've been worrying us. Hiro especially-he got the brunt of what you became after the fire, but he also knows how much it hurt you. He's been scared lately, and what happened between you two last night sort of made him shut down."

"I'll go apologize later."

"No."

His eyes shot up again, then quickly back down as GoGo's glare made him shrink back in his seat.

"You're going to go and apologize to him right now."

"I can't, we're almost done here."

"What, so a dumb map is more important than your brother?"

Tadashi's irritation came back with a vengeance. "No, I'm saying that our aunt's life is currently more important than whatever hormone-induced ditch Hiro's thrown himself into. We can talk it out after we save our only family member-besides each other, that is-but right now we're kind of busy."

"You can take a few minutes to talk to him."

Tadashi rolled his eyes, silently wishing that his girlfriend- _Girlfriend? Is GoGo my girlfriend? I mean, we have been going out for a while, and we know that we like each other… We are getting off topic_ -would at least try to understand. "Yeah, I guess I can, but-"

"Tadashi, come off it. I think we both know the reason you aren't talking to him isn't because you don't have time."

"And what do you think it is?"

GoGo didn't reply, except to put her hand up to her face and rub her eyes. "Just… Remember that you said you'd be there for him, okay?"

"I never forget my promises, GoGo," Tadashi replied coolly, running fingertips through his fire-bleached hair. "I'll go and apologize once we've gotten all this mess over with."

"If you're so sure…"

Before he could reply to her, Tadashi's girlfriend- _Am I his girlfriend now? No, focus_ -quickly left the room, seething with anger.

* * *

"What were you guys talking about?"

"What do you think we were talking about, Hiro?"

"...Is he mad at me?"

GoGo released a sigh and leaned back against the wall, her hand coming up to rub the nape of her neck. "I'm not entirely sure. He makes it out to be, but really, I think he's just scared that something will happen to you again."

"Which is entirely plausible, but by no means a legitimate reason for going all Punisher on that chick."

Fred whistled in appreciation of the Marvel reference, then sighed and shook his head. "As much as I hate to admit it, GoGo, I really think that maybe we should just try and steer clear of the elder Hamartyr Brother."

"Ha-what-now?"

"You two seriously have issues with sacrificing yourselves for others."

GoGo allowed a smirk to flit across her lips. "Fred has a point. You two have martyr complexes."

"Well, that's…. entirely besides the point…"

"Shorty?"

"Mm?"

"Please tell me that you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking."

"I'm thinking that maybe I am thinking what you're thinking I'm thinking. I think."

"Shut up."

Finally, Wasabi interrupted. "What's going on in your heads?!"

GoGo glanced at the teenager, who glanced in her direction, then Hiro grinned. "Well, I was thinking of locking Tadashi in a closet. What were you thinking, Future sister?"

"I was- Wait, what?"

"Nothing. Continue."

GoGo sighed, rolling her eyes. "I was considering maybe telling him that we had found a lead, then we go and find Aunt Cass in the meantime."

"I guess that's a reasonable solution. Although I will admit, the idea of locking Tadashi in a closet appeals to me as well."

"Shut up, Fred."

* * *

"Tadashi?"

The elder Hamada was gently dozing with his head on the table(something that Hiro really wished he could leave his brother to, as he had not slept for two days straight), then stirred suddenly to gaze blearily in the younger's direction. "Y-es?"

"We found a new lead on Aunt Cass' location."

Immediately, the sleep dusting his eyelashes vanished, and he sat up straight-immediately regretting it as he grew somewhat lightheaded. "Re-ally?"

"Yep. GoGo got a call from one of her contacts, and they said that the new drafts have been training in the old warehouse by the bridge-you know, the one with the wicked graffiti on the side of the dragon and the unico-"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Tadashi's bright smile was replaced with the same urgent hostility that had been emanating from his person all the previous day, and Hiro sighed.

"It's not that simple. There are a lot of guards-it would have to be a stealth mission."

"I'll go, then."

"Tadashi, please-"

The elder Hamada silenced his brother with a glare, then immediately went into the next room to change into his suit.

As he did so, Honey Lemon quietly crept from behind a curtain. "He bought it."

"Yeah, he did," Hiro replied quietly, trying to ignore the twisting feeling in his chest.

"It's going to be okay. After we get Aunt Cass back, he'll go back to normal."

"Will he, though?"

Honey Lemon let out a soft sigh and gently wrapped her arm around Hiro's shoulders. "You remember what it was like for Tadashi after the fire. He thought he'd lost everything. He didn't think he'd be able to come back to you guys, and especially after what happened in the prison-"

"After he shot me," Hiro interrupted quietly as the tall Latina flinched. "It's alright, you can say it. We all know what happened, no need to dance around it."

"After he… shot you, he didn't want to hurt you again, to the point of running away to keep you safe," Honey Lemon said softly. "He doesn't want anything to happen to his family. He's just… really focused on keeping you guys together for good. He doesn't want Aunt Cass to get hurt. You should know that better than anyone else."

"I do know that, Honey. I just wish he'd be a little less hostile about the whole thing."

"He will be," Honey insisted before giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then moving into the next room, abuzz with news.

In the meantime, Hiro glanced at the chair his brother had previously been occupying, and flopped down in it, a huff escaping his lips.

"I'm not so sure about that, Honey Lemon."

* * *

 _ **[I think I have made one thing very clear. I am not very kind to my poor characters. What's got Tadashi so riled up? Why is Hiro so hesitant to talk to him about it? Are GoGo and Tadashi indeed boyfriend and girlfriend? Are they going to stop it with the puppy eyes that the rest of the team can't NOT notice, the odd moments of simply looking into one another's eyes that a kiss would fit perfectly into, and the extreme overprotectiveness? I wouldn't know, I don't write romance! *throws hands up in the air because I suck at this***_

 _ **Really, this entire chapter is just a filler so that you have something while I'm figuring out the action parts. Sorry!**_

 _ **I don't really have any headcanons for this chapter... I'm really sorry! I can't think of any off the top of my head!**_

 _ **Oh no, wait, there is one:**_

 ** _-Tadashi and GoGo have been going out for a year and a half. Unfortunately, due to the fact that they're both awkward, they haven't progressed to the 'official title' of boyfriend and girlfriend. Not even a first kiss(although that's mostly Hiro's doing, overprotective of his cinnamon roll of a brother as he is. If you want to know exactly how that happened, look at my other story 'Where Our Eyes Are Never Closing'). The rest of the team(yes, even Baymax) and Aunt Cass have been trying to remedy this._**

 ** _So, that's it for today! Once again, I apologize for being so dumb as to break myself. ;A;_**

 ** _Oblivious Out~!]_**


	9. She's the Man

_**[Hello, dearest readers! I'm so sorry for the wait-I have good news! The surgery was a success, and I am currently recovering. Getting around on the scooter thing(the abominable scooter) is getting a little easier, although I still would prefer to walk, and I don't even need to use the pain meds right now. The surgery was... what, five days ago? Ish? I intended to post the chapter last night, but Fanfiction went down on my end. o.o Was it like that for anyone else?**_

 _ **Anyhow, now that I am recovering, I have roughly three more weeks of the Scooter of Death. In that time, I hope to write at least one more chapter of this, and maybe I'll try to resurrect my story "It's Been a Long Time", a Callaghan-centric fic that takes place in an Alternate Universe. I would suggest reading it, because if I get positive feedback, I'll work on that as well. If not, I will work on something else. [*Insert shameless self-advertising here*]**_

 ** _On another topic, here are the responses to your reviews!_**

 ** _Mr M: He...hehe...Hehehe... You'll just have to find out. And there is some banter, there is a lot at the very beginning, and a little bit at the very end of the prequel, but you're right, there should probably be more. Right now, I'm more focused on Tadashi being a little- *cut off by someone menacingly holding up a Swear Jar* *glares at them*_**

 ** _Thank you so much! I'm blushing. Seriously. o.o *hides angry tomato face*_**

 ** _BigHero6Fan D: Me too! I hate being the cripple. DX_**

 ** _Thank you so much! ;u; *hugs you*_**

 ** _I briefly considered having a Tadashi-in-the-closet scene, but then I realized that I would never get to anything, I would be having too much fun with 'Holy crap, Hiro, get me the hell out of here!'_**

 ** _Tony18: Me too!_**

 ** _Yeah, I was thinking at first that the plot would mainly surround the Fujitas taking Aunt Cass, but really, I'm seeing a deeper storyline in Tadashi kind of losing it again. .u._**

 ** _I know, Hiro may or may not have taken over the role of parent/older sibling when it comes to Tadashi's lovelife. "You'll have him back by 10, of course. I know you're a responsible young woman, GoGo(not). Two minutes later, and I'll call your father."_**

 ** _Lady Cougar-Trombone: Tadashi certainly hasn't seen the last of Akuma, no. It might come in a little later, but he still has a few inner demons to battle._**

 ** _Yeah, I'm hoping that I'll be walking again in three weeks-ish. ^-^_**

 ** _Tears Fall: Why, thank you!_**

 ** _I ACTUALLY ONLY SORT OF HALF-SHIP IT._**

 ** _It's hard to explain, see: I ship Tadashi and Honey Lemon in the movie. They're both so positive and encouraging, and I think they'd be a good match for each other._**

 ** _But in the Scorched AU, Tadashi has sort of withdrawn into himself-and maybe it was a long time coming, but he's really introverted and even antisocial at this point. He finds it hard to reach out and share what's going on in his head._**

 ** _Honey Lemon is, while not extroverted to the point of being annoying(something I really love about her character(I know several extroverts and they generally come off as pushy and irritating when socializing with introverts, but not Honey Lemon, she seems to know her limits)), very extroverted._**

 ** _I can't see a relationship with someone as positive and cheerful as Honey Lemon being something Tadashi would be too comfortable with. He wouldn't be able to connect on a deeper level, because after what happened with Callaghan, he's too damaged to give of himself on an emotional level._**

 ** _Honey Lemon strikes me as someone who would be really into a relationship-she doesn't do things halfway. If she likes someone, she lets them know, and if they happen to be in a relationship, she gives it her all. Tadashi wouldn't be able to do that, and that's why I ship Canon!Tadashi and Honey Lemon, but not Scorched!Tadashi and Honey Lemon._**

 ** _GoGo just wouldn't really give a crap, to be honest. 'Okay, so you're not too comfortable with emotions, I can deal with that.'_**

 ** _I would have a lot of fun with a 'Tadashi stuck in the closet' scene. xD The idea of Tadashi trapped there really appeals to me._**

 ** _o.o That came out wrong._**

 ** _Thanks!_**

 ** _DaydreamDepartment: Yeah, I get the feeling that Tadashi is very keen on whether someone is lying to him or not, but in this case, he's running solely on caffeine and sheer willpower. He's too focused on staying conscious to pay any sort of attention. xD_**

 ** _Everyone else: Thank you for reading! I have a task for you-You see that review button? At the bottom of the page, yes. I need you to punch it for me. It's been saying rude things about Tadashi, and God knows Mr. Perfect Cinnamon Roll has dealt with enough crap. He'll cry if we don't hit it!_**

 ** _Okay. Done? Thank you!_**

 ** _Now, I don't actually have a playlist song for this chapter. I mean, I considered Dude(Looks Like A Lady) for kicks and giggles, but I decided to just put up one of my favorites that doesn't necessarily pertain to the plot._**

 ** _So, my song that you should listen to just because I thought you should is Mad World by Gary Jules. Enjoy!_**

* * *

 _"I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad_

 _The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had_

 _I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take_

 _When people run in circles, it's a very very mad world."_

 _-Mad World, by Gary Jules_

* * *

"Six…. Intrepid friends…"

"Fred."

"Lead by Fred, their leader Fred, their leader, _Fred!_ "

"Fred, please."

"Harnessing the power of the sun with the ancient amulet they found in the attic."

"Hiro, can I laser-hand him in the face?"

"..."

"I'm not hearing a no."

"The amulet is green! It's probably an emerald!"

"Not yet."

Fred paused in his singing to glare at the younger Hamada. "Not _yet?_ "

Hiro cast him a small smile. "I haven't decided yet. I'm going with no for right now. Don't make me change my mind."

"That's somewhat hurtful. I thought I meant more to you than that. I thought we were friends."

"You say that as if it's unknown for someone to murder their friend."

"On a completely different topic," GoGo growled, "We're presented with the issue of how we're going to get in there."

In response, Hiro only raised an eyebrow and tossed the unamused college student her Fujita garb.

"Oh. Oh no," Honey Lemon whispered. "We are _not_ doing that again!"

"Stop whining, woman up."

"You're not helping! Last time I wore that, I crashed into three trees and a bush!"

"We don't like this any more than you do," Hiro said quickly in an attempt to mollify the blonde. "But if we're going to get my aunt back, we need someone to infiltrate the Fujita hideout, and-"

"You know, you could probably pass for a girl."

Immediately, the entire team fell silent.

"Honey Lemon, I'm not dressing up as a _girl_ just because you're not comfortable with skates."

"Well, I'm not going to be using skates that are nigh impossible to use just because you're not comfortable with dressing up as a girl."

GoGo snorted with laughter. "She has a point, Shorty. You have the build for it."

"Oh, thanks."

"It was meant as a compliment."

"Why don't you shut up?"

* * *

"I look ridiculous."

"C'mon, you look fine. Now pucker up."

"If you think I'm wearing lipstick, you're sadly mistaken."

"It's just lipstick, Hiro. I haven't even put on the mascara yet."

"God help me. _Wasabi, put that camera down._ "

Wasabi choked back laughter and quietly lowered the blue-tinted digital camera. "You know, I bet Tadashi would love to see this."

"Tadashi isn't going to find out about this. Not until after we get Aunt Cass back," Hiro replied quietly, "And he certainly isn't going to be seeing me in fishnet stockings and lipstick."

"Just one picture?" Honey Lemon's lip quivered in a pout. "For memory's sake?"

"No."

GoGo rolled her eyes as she grabbed the teenager's face, almost forcing his lips to pucker as she applied lipstick. "There. Now you look pretty. Flutter those lashes for me, won't you?"

"I hate you all."

A tube of mascara was produced from the makeup case Honey Lemon always kept on her person. "C'mon, Hiro. You look beautiful!"

"Don't talk to me. This is your fault."

GoGo tilted up his face. "Okay, open your eyes wide, Shorty."

Groaning in frustration, the 17 year old opened them as wide as they would go, then shut them tight as the mascara wand came near. "Doesn't mascara cause blindness?"

"Only if you stab yourself in the eye with the wand-which I won't, if you stay still."

Forcing himself to open his eyes again, Hiro let his friend apply the mascara, wincing as much as he could without the mascara wand stabbing his cornea. "Why is it always me who gets roped into this stuff?"

"Because Honey Lemon sucks on skates, Wasabi and Fred are so obviously male-"

"And I'm not?" Hiro's eyebrows came together in a scowl.

GoGo hesitated. "I'd prefer not to answer that, and Tadashi is… well, we're not entirely sure what's up with him."

"He's on his man-period, that's what's up with him."

"I thought the caffeine overdose wore off?"

"I did too," Hiro muttered, subtly backing away from the eyeshadow wand. "But seeing as he's gone berserk-"

"He's just overprotective," GoGo said quietly as she forced Hiro to stay still. "He doesn't want you to get hurt, and Aunt Cass has been like his mother for the past 14 years. Tadashi isn't going to let his family get hurt again."

"What color eyeshadow are you using?"

"Purple. It goes well with your eyes."

"Fan-freaking-tastic."

* * *

"You're pretty okay on those skates, Shorty."

Hiro shrugged, turning as he did so. "I'm not crashing into any bushes, that's good enough."

GoGo didn't reply as she jumped over a speed bump. "The hideout is just ahead, in the building with the neon."

"Wait, people still use neon?"

"Apparently."

Hiro rolled his eyes, muttering something about 'primitive savages', then rolled past the door, skidding as he did so. "This the place?"

"Anywhere else have neon lights?"

"I guess not."

"Then we can assume this is the place," GoGo replied smugly.

"No need to get snippy, _Comet."_

"Whatever you say, _Twilight. "_

" _Will you guys stop twitting at each other and get to work?"_

The pair glanced at each other before replying in unison. " _Shut up, Wasabi."_

" _I'm just saying, Tadashi should be finding out that we lied to him very soon, and if we don't find Aunt Cass and get out very quickly, he's going to be coming down on us with the fury of a woman scorned."_

" _Tadashi is not a woman."_

" _Yet he seems to have hit his time of the month."_

" _That was a caffeine overdose."_

" _Whatever you say, Shorty."_

" _Oh, and we're the ones twitting?"_ GoGo let out a soft bark of laughter before knocking thrice on the front door. (thrice is a word, right? Note to self: look up the word 'thrice' before posting.)

The door opened barely a crack, and a small voice shot the statement out onto the pavement. "Password?"

"Open the door, Jupiter, or I'll knock your teeth in."

"Razor?" The door opened a little bit more, and a bright blue eye could barely be seen through the slowly widening gap. "Who's that with you?"

"That's Laquisha."

Hiro resisted the urge to hit his head against a wall.

"She wants to join up."

"Sakura said not to trust you. She says you're a Big Hero."

"Sakura also said that electro-mag skates couldn't be done. She's wrong a lot of the time."

Jupiter's head pokes out of the door, and Hiro could barely hold back a gasp-the girl had to be 13 at most. "She said to warn everyone if you came."

"Oh, honey…" GoGo knelt down, trying to stay steady as her skates went one way and then the other. "Sakura's gone psycho. She doesn't know what she's doing."

"Do you really need to be here, Razor? I don't want you to get hurt," Jupiter said slowly.

GoGo paused, then sighed. "Okay, Laquisha here doesn't really want to sign up."

"I thought so."

"We need to talk to someone," the college student said warily, straightening up. "Is there anyone in there named Kasumi?"

"Yeah, she tells everyone to call her Cass, but Sakura calls her Rakki."

"'Lucky'," Hiro translated out loud.

"Yeah, we got that, genius. Jupiter, can you have Cass come see us?"

The pre-teen nodded jerkily, then disappeared behind the door.

"So, what do we do while we're waiting?"

"Well, the Fujitas have a lot of members. This could take a while. And Jupiter tends to get sidetracked."

"So, what? We just wait?"

There was a moment of silence while GoGo thought out a reply.

"...We could play a game."

* * *

"I spy with my little eye… something purple."

"Is it my eyeshadow?"

"No, Hiro, it is not your eyeshadow."

"Because it's purple."

"I noticed, actually."

"I don't like wearing eyeshadow."

"I noticed that, too."

Hiro was silent for a moment, resting his head against the concrete. "Is it the embroidery on my gloves?"

"It's not attached to you in any way," GoGo suddenly shot from another slab of pavement.

"Okay. Is it the neon?"

GoGo let out a soft sound between growling and laughter. "Took you long enough, Shorty."

"Is that a yes?"

"Mhm."

"...I spy with my little eye… something gold."

"Is it the spikes on your gloves?"

"Screw you, GoGo."

* * *

"GoGo?"

Immediately, two heads shot up, and the insanely bored pair scrambled to get to their feet in order to see her. "Aunt Cass!"

"GoGo, how did you…" Cass trailed off as she sized up the taller of the pair, then let out a choking sound that sounded like she was holding back laughter. "Hiro, is that you?"

"Not one word."

"You're wearing gold eyeliner."

Hiro groaned and forced himself not to hit his head against the wall, fearing the loss of even more brain cells. "We've established that, yes."

"What did Tadashi say when he saw?" Her green eyes were bright with amusement, with unshed tears.

Hiro held back a sigh of irritation. "He hasn't seen it yet-and thank God for that. He's sort of gone bonkers. I don't know why, but-"

"He's acting like it's his time of the month?"

GoGo froze in her skating to Cass' side. "Yes, exactly."

Aunt Cass allowed herself a small sigh. "That's just his mother hen instincts kicking in. What did you do?"

Hiro hesitated, unsure of whether she'd approve, then remembered that it was in order to get her back and plowed on. "We sent him on a wild goose chase on the other side of town."

"He isn't going to be too pleased about that."

"Well, it was that or have him breathing down our necks and hurling abuse at Hiro the entire time."

Cass' eyes widened momentarily. "What was that about abusing Hiro?"

"It's just verbal abuse," the younger Hamada muttered under his breath before GoGo interrupted.

"After he found out that Hiro sometimes goes botfighting undercover to get information-"

"He what?!"

Hiro winced, hiding behind his bangs while GoGo continued as if nothing had happened. "Tadashi started flipping out at him, which was understandable, but then he just sort of shut down in terms of mother hen and went completely mental. He'll glare at him from across the room, not allow him to speak when the rest of us are participating in a conversation, just completely shut him out and try to make the rest of us do the same."

At this, Aunt Cass fell into a surprised silence, thinking over what GoGo had said. "Well, he's probably just mad that Hiro has been going against his word when he promised-"

"The thing is, I've been going with him, doing the same, even _encouraging_ him," the college student insisted. "Tadashi hasn't been acting weird towards me. He's sort of forgotten that I even exist, he's so focused on being hostile."

Hiro leaned uncomfortably against the wall, waiting for a response, and when there wasn't one, finally spoke up. "I'm just thinking that this will blow over when he sees we've found you. So, we should probably get you home before Sakura and the others get back."

The surprisingly well dressed gang member winced visibly, then sighed. "That would be a good idea, honey. The only issue is that I'm not going."

* * *

 _ **[NOTE: I realized after first posting this that I didn't edit out a few things. So you are left with a few random notes. I was going to edit them out really quickly, but then I decided it added to the comic relief. Please don't hate me.**_

 _ **Okay, I have a request of you guys. If there is anyone artsy out there, here is my request! I would like art of Hiro in his Fujita getup. I don't intend to do anything with it other than laugh my head off, but seeing as I have no skills in art whatsoever, I ask help of you, my fans! I know you can't send art via PM, so you would have to post it elsewhere first, but...**_

 _ **I just really, really want to see Hiro in a dress, okay? xD You can PM me for what I imagine the getup would look like, and we can go from there.**_

 _ **So, I have only a few headcanons-sorry!**_

 _ **But here they are:**_

 _ **-Honey Lemon is very, very bad on skates.**_

 _ **-Hiro may or may not have tried cross-dressing at some point on a dare. He totally pulled it off-Tadashi wouldn't have recognized him if it weren't for his scars. Other than that, if you didn't already know him, you would have had no idea he was a guy. And as a result, he hasn't set foot in a women's clothing store since.**_

 _ **GoGo gave him crap about that for a month, and Tadashi has pictures that he occasionally threatens to leak online if his little brother gets too out of line. He also has a video of Aunt Cass seeing him and then telling him that he makes a very pretty girl. The gang only laughed for about three years.**_

 _ **-At some point, the Nerd Herd attempted to be an online Acapella sensation similar to Pentatonix. Honey Lemon and Tadashi held the main melody-harmony line, Wasabi hit most of the high notes(because I am 100% certain that he would be able to), Fred would drop the bass, and GoGo was surprisingly good at beatboxing. They were an internet sensation, going by the name 'Nerds of San Fran' or something else that was completely unoriginal, but they broke up after finals came around.**_

 _ **Hiro may or may not have been insulted that he was never asked to be a part of it. Which is why they never told him while it was still going on. After Tadashi came back, they thought about getting back together, but after Tadashi insisted on their doing mainly Katy Perry covers and a certain Alicia Keys song, they decided against it. Which is unfortunate, because it turns out that Hiro totally could have come in and done some Dubstep or something.**_

 _ **And that's it for now! Please let me know if you have any suggestions, or leave me a review and tell me how I did!**_

 _ **Oblivious Out~! *scooters out of the frame*]**_


	10. You See Me Lose Control

_**[*rises out of the Earth like a zombie***_

 _ **I LIIIIIVE!**_

 _ **Geez. When was the last time I updated?! Like a month ago?**_

 _ **Okay, first things first(I'mtherealest), I am seriously. So. Sorry. I haven't been doing my best in updating, and it's gotten ridiculous. I'm not going to make a promise that from now on I'll update every week(because if I break that promise, I'll be annoying the crap out of all of you), but I am going to do my best to be better.**_

 _ **So, in other news, I am able to walk again, but it is still extremely painful, and so I am still on the Death Scooter. Which is not an excuse, but I thought I would let you guys know.**_

 _ **I have also been ensnared by the fandom that is Gravity Falls. Oh my Carrots. It's amazing. So I have been trying to write for that as well... Really, I have a problem. And with school starting...**_

 _ **I really just have a lot going on right now. I'm sorry. And I hope you can forgive me for the unannounced hiatus.]**_

 _ **[So, in response to your reviews:**_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: Thank you! And yes, I just thought it would be funny. And also, I was lazy. xD Actually, Hiro is wearing both purple eyeshadow and gold eyeliner. Sorry if there was any confusion! And I'm sorry for the annoying lack of an update!**_

 _ **TheUltimateFangirl2020: Haha, no worries! Is it mean that I laughed at your technical difficulty?**_

 _ **Thank you! And... hehe... I may have drawn some fanart in one of my sketchbooks. Too bad you can't post fanart on here, eh? I really enjoyed writing Hiro's discomfort.**_

 _ **BigHero6Fan D: Haha, you'll just have to wait and see! I hope the chapter is not TOO disappointing, though. Dx I got it done in a hurry.**_

 _ **Funnily enough, so have I. I drew Hiro in his Fujita costume, out of boredom one day, and the result was amazing. xD Not amazing as in I liked my own work, but I liked the concept. xD**_

 _ **Tony18: Thank you so much! I am really 10x better at humor than drama, which is unfortunate, seeing as this story is very dramatic, but I try to make my writing seem a little better by making it funny. xD**_

 ** _Ooh, I have plans for slapping sense into Tadashi... *evil author laughter* I also intend to explain it later on. Tadash isn't just acting like it's his time of the month for no reason. He's pissed, and he has a very good reason. Of course, it's slightly late in coming, but the pressure has been building up for a while. I'm just not looking forward to the fallout._**

 ** _I feel really bad for leaving this cliffhanger for so long. DX I'm sorry about that, and I hope that I satisfy your curiosity._**

 ** _DaydreamDepartment: Haha, I actually have drawn Hiro in his costume, due to a half hour or so of boredom and the fact that I recently acquired four new notebooks. :)_**

 ** _BH6-Is-Awesome: Okay, so you left three reviews, hold on..._**

 ** _1\. Thank you so much! Although, of course, if I were writing Big Hero 6, Tadashi probably would have ACTUALLY died(due to my jerkiness and inability to be kind to my readers), and in a more graphic way, in the hospital, where we see burn wounds and a body(once again, because I am evil). There would have been cursing(which I don't reflect into my fanfiction writing, because my mom has asked to read some on occasion), and a helluva lot more blood. Like seriously. So much blood. Callaghan and Hiro would have both broken a rib when they fell down the stairs, poor Honey Lemon would have gotten a gash when she got hit in the head by one of GoGo's disks, and you can bet that Hiro would be in the hospital during the aftermath of the portal. While, admittedly, this would be more realistic, it would also have a PG-13 rating. At least. So, I guess it's best that I don't write the sequel. xD_**

 ** _2\. I know, I know! I'm sorry. I have been going through some stuff, and I have gotten into another fandom, and school has started... It's been hard, and that doesn't excuse me at all, I know, but I am... Sorry._**

 ** _3\. Actually, it's Honey Lemon who chickened out of going. And you can't really blame her-she's no good at skating, for one, and she would have been among a bunch of gang members who, if she weren't a badass superhero, would snap her like a twig. Dun blame teh Honey Lemons. She be awesome._**

 ** _Also, I wanted to thank you... I would never have gotten this chapter done if you hadn't reviewed, because to be entirely honest I needed someone to tell me to get a move on._**

 ** _Everyone Else: Thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry that I haven't been updating, and I hope to do more of this... "writing" that you speak of in the future. In the meantime, please enjoy, and if you feel like you want to, please review!_**

 ** _Today's song is 'Towards the Sun' by Rihanna(ugh, I know, please don't flip out on me. Hush now and read the chapter)_**

 ** _Thanks again!]_**

* * *

 _"Shadows chase me far from home_

 _I remember when my heart was filled with gold_

 _And you know, I've been burned..._

 _It's not worth... my soul..._

 _Turn your face towards the sun_

 _Let the shadows fall behind you."_

 _-Towards the Sun, by Rihanna_

* * *

"Very funny, Aunt Cass."

The Fujita winced and rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm being entirely serious."

At this, Hiro started glaring at her. "What do you mean, entirely serious? You're actually considering staying here?!"

"Just hear me out-"

Hiro cut her off, eyes bright with fury. "No, you hear me out! Tadashi's going insane with worry, we've risked our necks to try and get you back, and our house has been destroyed! Mochi has been sleeping with me in my bed! We've all missed you, and we-"

"There's someone who wants your heads," Cass said quietly, looking at her nephew with determination.

"Of course there is, Aunt Cass! Everyone wants our heads!"

"No, I mean someone with power," she insisted, voice growing in volume.

"Like Callaghan?"

"More so," Aunt Cass said, frowning. "He's intelligent, and no one has been able to find out who exactly he is. He's managed to unite the gangs of San Fransokyo, and intends to use them as an army against the Big Hero 6."

"We already know that," Hiro replied, a frown tugging at his lips.

"I intend to stay and figure out who this is, and how you can stop him."

"Not an option, Aunt Cass."

"I'm an adult, Hiro-and your legal guardian," Cass said gently. "If I decide to remain in the Fujita hideout for your safety, I'll do so."

"But that's… entirely besides the point…"

"I'm staying, Hiro, and there isn't anything you can say that would convince me to do otherwise."

" She's right, _otouto._ "

And suddenly, Hiro was afraid to turn around.

* * *

"And how long, exactly, have you been watching us, Tadashi?"

"Since you got here. There's no Fujita hideout by the bridge. That was obvious as soon as I got there, so I came back."

Hiro winced and finally got up the courage to turn, greeted by the sight of a cold glare, eyes narrowed to near slits. "Hey, _nii-chan…_ "

"'Tadashi's acting like a girl on her period'?"

"I didn't-"

"Coming from the guy wearing purple eyeshadow and gold eyeliner, that's rich."

"It was our only-"

"Not to mention the fishnet stockings. Really, Hiro, I had thought that you would have more respect for yourself than that."

"Women can wear what they want, respect entirely out of the picture, but that's not the point."

"Do us all a favor, and please stop talking."

For once, Hiro was incapable of disobeying any sort of order from his brother, and fell completely silent, to the shock of the two women nearby.

"Tadashi, what's your problem?"

The young man turned to GoGo, whose eyes were alight with sudden fury. "What's _my_ problem? My problem is that you guys deliberately sent me on a wild goose chase when Aunt Cass is missing!"

"I'm not missing now, Tadashi," Cass said quietly, a silent rage fueling in her expression. "As a matter of fact, I'm staying here."

"No, you're not, and I don't see why you two are flipping out."

" _We're_ flipping out?!"

GoGo stepped over to her friend(?) and forced herself not to punch him in the chest. "Look. Your aunt and I don't agree on a lot of things, but one thing I know we both agree on right now is the fact that you're off your rocker."

"Sweetie, I understand you've been scared, but you're endangering yourself."

Hiro winced inwardly at this, taking a few steps away from his brother as Tadashi tilted his head to the side in that manner that generally suggested he was about to win an argument.

"Is that so?"

"Tadashi, admittedly, maybe we should have just made you stay home. But it's hard to get any work done when the only thing you're willing to do is chew your brother out and glare at everybody."

Tadashi opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again. "I… I guess you have a point."

"Of course we do, now, before anything else happens, I want you two to make up and start acting like civilized people," Cass growled.

"But Aunt Cass-"

"No buts with me, mister!"

Being the extremely mature and completely grown up men that they were, the Hamada brothers forced back their sudden fit of giggling. Because mature adults don't laugh at the word 'but'.

"...Hiro, I'm sorry for ignoring you and maybe sort of wanting to lock you in a closet and leave you there."

"I would say I'm sorry as well, but I don't really have anything to apologize for."

" _Hiro._ "

"...Fine. I'm sorry for… um… Botfighting? Even though it was for a very good reason?"

"Well, that's probably the closest I'll get to an apology," Tadashi said with a sigh. "Forgiven."

"Okay. Now that we've sorted that out… What the hell, Aunt Cass?!"

The older woman winced, then leaned against the wall. "I'm staying. I'm sorry, but I can't go with you in the knowledge that there's someone out for your heads."

"There's always someone-"

"No one knows who he is," Cass continued, as if Tadashi hadn't spoken. "He calls himself Moru, and he's very intelligent. He seems to know when someone is going to double cross him, and takes them out before they do. He seems to want revenge for something, although what, I don't know."

"Maybe we put someone he doesn't like in jail," Hiro replied softly, still a little wary.

"Perhaps," GoGo said, then sighed. "Or maybe we didn't."

"What do you mean?"

GoGo cleared her throat, then skated over to the family, skidding to a stop before she crashed into their youngest member. "Well, the Fujitas have a theory. You've probably heard of Little Yama-Big Yama's younger brother?"

"Yeah," Hiro responded, wincing at the memory. Yama had named the bot after said younger brother, because of their close friendship. "What about him?"

"He had been second-in-command before Yama died, and apparently there were strong familial bonds there…"

"...Crap."

Hiro threw a glance in Tadashi's direction, sighing. "So, really, it's very possible that Yama's younger brother has a vendetta against us because we didn't catch… Tadashi."

"Pretty much."

"Although, technically-"

"I guess it might have counted-"

" _Guys._ "

"Sorry, nii-chan."

Tadashi sighed, bringing his hand up to massage the bridge of his nose. "So really, Aunt Cass getting kidnapped, our home getting destroyed, Hiro dressing in drag-"

"I had no choice. They made me."

"-Is because I killed this guy's older brother."

Hiro cleared his throat. "Talk about a role reversal."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, a younger brother, bereft of his older sibling, with a vendetta against the murderer, and is now on a mission with his sibling's friends to bring him to justice…"

The group fell silent.

"Holy crap. It's like the universe is creating your guys' archnemesis."

"You sound like Fred, Aunt Cass."

"It's the truth, though," Cass insisted, eyes alight with amusement. "This is how all superheroes end up going down. They create their own demise."

"Are you implying that we're going to die?"

"Dear God, I hope not."

Hiro sighed to himself, then ran a hand through his hair. "So, what do we do now?"

"We find him before he finds us, so that we don't have to deal with this later," Tadashi replied with a frown.

GoGo was frowning with him, her hair having gotten stuck in her lip gloss. "Well, where does Yama's brother live?"

"How would I know?"

"You see, this is where my botfighting prowess comes in," the younger Hamada said with a smirk. "I know the address."

"...Seriously?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"Yes."

"...Fair enough."

Aunt Cass nodded, suddenly pleased at the way things were turning out. "And I'll stay here, and send you a message as soon as I get any information regarding this."

"You're absolutely sure about this, Ms. Hamada?"

"Positive," she replied, a smile tugging at her lips. "Now, you all run along, and get him."

* * *

The ride home was very quiet, Baymax carrying the brothers on his shoulders while GoGo skated back to her apartment. Every so often, Hiro would glance at his brother, even attempt to start a conversation, but when his efforts weren't reciprocated, he finally fell silent and paid attention to staying on the robot.

After five more minutes of continued silence, however, Hiro couldn't stand it anymore.

"...I really am sorry about sending you on a wild goose chase."

"What's done is done," Tadashi replied simply, although the tone of his voice conveyed a trait entirely different than passiveness.

"I just… didn't want to be yelled at, and didn't even think of talking to you about it."

"I know."

Hiro found himself becoming quiet again, contemplating if his brother was actually still angry, when he spoke up.

"If you send me on a goose chase again, though, regardless of your reasoning, you can forget about my staying on this team."

And any doubt that the younger Hamada had had was gone.

* * *

 _ **[Once again, I apologize(I need to stop this, I sound annoying) for the late updates...**_

 ** _And now, headcanon time._**

 ** _-Tadashi has a thing for holding grudges. He forgives easily, but if you have hurt him to the point that he isn't willing to spend any more energy trying, he'll just... give up. He'll resent you, and just ignore you from then on. He generally isn't mean, but if he has gotten to this point with you, never expect any sort of civil speak coming from him towards you again. Unless someone he actually cares about is in the immediate vicinity. Then he'll tolerate your presence and try to ignore you some more._**

 ** _-Hiro is not submissive to authority in any way except one. While he doesn't obey rules or even any sort of order(unless he wants to), he will do his best to stop if Tadashi is genuinely angry. Which he isn't very often, so this doesn't generally happen. But Hiro knows his limits, and if he has infuriated his brother to the point that he is actually genuinely angry, and not just irritated, he will stop what he's doing and try to make up. This does not stem from any sort of fear of his brother(although Tadashi is fricking terrifying when he's angry), but because it takes a lot to get Tadashi actually ANGRY, and if he is, he has good reasons. As such, Hiro knows that it is in his best interests to do what his brother says. Which is generally something along the lines of "Sit down, shut up, and behave for once"._**

 ** _-Mkay. I know this is kind of a sensitive topic, but, and this is just how I see them..._**

 ** _Tadashi is Hetero through and through._** ** _GoGo is Demi/Heteroromantic, and_** ** _Honey is Bi._** ** _Wasabi is Ace and Panromantic,_** ** _I'm not really sure about Fred, a_** ** _nd Hiro is Ace as well as Aro._**

 ** _(Sorry, those of you who wanted Hiro to be in a relationship with someone... Not only do I not do romance well, but I can't really see Hiro being with anyone, and he doesn't really seem to be that interested in that type of thing. Hiro doesn't make a big deal out of it, even making jokes about it, and Tadashi is aware. While he hasn't exactly come out to the rest of the team, they really wouldn't make too big a deal of it, and to be honest, most of them have kind of already figured it out by now.)_**

 ** _Welp, that's about all! Please stay tuned for another chapter sometime in the (hopefully) near future!_**

 ** _Remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold! Bye~!_**

 ** _*scoots out of frame*]_**


	11. Till Your Heart Goes Numb

_**[Hello again, readers! So, guess what? I'm walking! I can get around the house without the Scooter of Death!**_

 _ **Also, I changed the name of the first story(Evanescence lyrics don't sit well with me as a title) to 'When Angels Fall', as well as the name of the AU-Scorched!AU just seems kind of overdone. I know, I'm flaky.**_

 _ **Now, you probably don't care about that, so, I have another awesome update: I now have a tumblr.**_

 _ **It's mainly for headcanons/art for this AU, because I can't post art on here, which sucks. I might put up a few OCs for my NaNo novel, but...**_

 _ **Anywho, the blog is 'Sarcasm and AUs', so if you want to see my headcanon for what Hiro looks like now(hella hot), read more headcanons, and get a visual on Tadashi's super suit, head on over! As I now have a new place to put my headcanons, I will not be posting any more headcanons on here, as they take up valuable space, and I would much prefer to answer reviews at the bottom of the page. I might post the occasional important one, but if you want to see how Tadashi's flame whips work, and the details behind his bionic, I would suggest checking my blog out!**_

 _ **Also, I will be going on hiatus in November, due to my participating in NaNoWriMo! If by some miracle, I do manage to post a chapter, please chew me out for not writing for my novel.**_

 _ **The reviews are now at the bottom of the page, so please check those out!**_

 _ **Today's Playlist song is Novocaine by Fall Out Boy(a song I am not sure if I have used yet).**_

 _ **Please enjoy!]**_

* * *

 _"I'm just a problem that doesn't want to be solved_

 _So would you please hold your applause?_

 _Take this sideshow and all its freaks_

 _Turn it into the silver screen dream_

 _Singing I am your worst nightmare_

 _Because you took our love, and you filled it up-_

 _Filled it up with Novocaine, and now I'm just_

 _Numb."_

 _-Novocaine, by Fall Out Boy_

* * *

As Tadashi looked out over their vantage point, he blinked in surprise. "Is it just me, or were we expecting a bit more than this?"

"Nope, it's just you."

"Lose the sense of humor."

"Why don't you buy one?"

And suddenly, the urge to push Hiro off their stakeout point(which was on top of a building) increased twofold.

"I'm just saying, for a guy that apparently is in control of two thirds of the gangs around here, his house is a pretty modest one."

Hiro's head tilted to the side, then he shrugged. "If you have any intelligence whatsoever, you try to make an understatement. Don't draw attention to yourself. People tend to notice gangs flocking to a mansion. If you live in a more run-down section of town, however..."

"I guess I see your points."

"Kind of like your teeth."

"What?"

"They have points… Ah, never mind."

"Are you seriously commenting on my teeth? You, oh bearer of the eternal tooth gap?"

"Shaddup."

" _Can you guys not argue about the facial features again? You both look like Two-Face, and you know it."_

One of Hiro's hands went to his chest. "I'm so wounded. That really hurt, GoGo."

"She's joking," Tadashi teased. "I know you love my dumb Two-Face-ness."

" _Can you just do something other than argue about who's uglier?"_

"I'm obviously cuter though," Tadashi mumbled.

At this, Hiro got a wicked grin on his face and nudged his brother in the ribs. "I guess I'll admit you're… Hotter."

"Not cool, bro."

GoGo sighed from the other side of the comlinks. " _Hiro, you got your scars in a fire, too."_

"Oh yeah. So I did. I guess I'm pretty hot, too."

"Not that it matters."

" _Guys."_

"Right. So, what do we do, just break in?"

Hiro shrugged, leaning back to rest against the cold concrete. "I guess. What do you say, brother mine?"

"Fine by me. I've broken into more places than you've won botfights," Tadashi teased.

"A truly incredible feat," his brother replied, a single eyebrow twitching upwards. "But is it entirely truthful?"

"Probably not."

* * *

"What took you guys so long?"

GoGo shrugged, throwing a glance in Hiro's direction. "I would have gotten here sooner, but I had to break up a fight between a couple of Two-Face wannabes."

Hiro winced, then sighed. "I see your point."

"So, what's the plan?" Wasabi leaned against his van, watching the rest of the team. "I'm assuming we actually have a plan this time, right?"

"Tadashi goes in, asks to see Lil' Yama, and if no one wants to take him seriously, he beats the crap out of them and calls us."

"That sounds like a solid plan."

"I thought so too," GoGo replied cheerily.

"Repeat the 'Tadashi beating the crap out of them' part," Hiro interrupted, eyes narrowed. "Tadashi may agree with that, but we're the good guys. Remember the last time he tried to beat someone up?"

"Relax, short stuff," Leiko said with a chuckle. "We're joking. Tadashi isn't beating anyone up."

"Actually, I sort of liked that idea," the elder Hamada mumbled, earning him a few quick glares.

"Okay. So, what's the _real_ plan?"

"Hiro and 'Dashi go in, then ask to see Lil' Yama. Doubtless, someone will recognize our darling Glitch from the Info Hub, and we'll be off to the sides, ready to jump in if they try and kill the two," Honey Lemon said, before GoGo could throw in any more remarks.

"...Basically," GoGo muttered.

* * *

"Are we gonna sneak in, or…?"

"Nope. Walk in like we own the place."

"Good plan, Hiro. And when we get murdered by a vengeful mob boss, I'm blaming you."

"Technically, this is all your fault, though."

"I said I was sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix my face."

At this, Tadashi rolled his eyes and gently shoved his brother. "That was entirely your fault."

"Okay," Hiro admitted. "But sorry doesn't fix _your_ face."

" _Ooh. Literal burn."_

"Shut up, Fred," Tadashi replied, irritated. "Should I have my whips ready?"

Hiro sighed and pushed his bangs out of his face. "You're going to have them ready anyways, though, aren't you?"

"Probably."

"Go ahead, I obviously can't do anything to stop you."

While Tadashi was tightening his 'special' piece of jewelry, Hiro quickly glanced around the corner at the abandoned apartment complex, then took a deep breath and started walking. Not two seconds later, Tadashi was at his side, accidentally bumping into him.

"Do you two have a reason for being here?"

Tadashi jumped at the voice, but Hiro turned around smoothly, a smile pulling at his lips. "Of cou…" he trailed off, eyes suddenly growing wide as he took in the figure.

"Ralph?"

"Glitch. Or should I say, Twilight?" The man's eyebrows came together in a scowl. "And this must be Eclipse again. You two aren't welcome here."

"Ralph, I swear, all of that was an accident-"

"Yeah, I get that," Ralph growled, shaking his head. "Regardless of the circumstances, you're still a good kid as far as I'm aware, so I'm warning you-Yama's pissed. He isn't going to be too happy to see you."

"That's why I'm here," Tadashi replied, eyes narrowing. "Someone came after a friend of ours, and we're looking for a lead."

At this, Ralph started chuckling. "Of course. I suppose even the angelic Big Hero 7 can have vendettas, eh? You're looking for revenge?"

Before Hiro could say anything, Tadashi's hand gripped his good shoulder tightly, silently willing him not to respond.

"It's less revenge," Tadashi started slowly. "More… Sending a message."

"I think the message of 'Don't mess with a high-tech team of trained fighters' should have gotten across loud and clear," the man laughed. "Obviously, some people aren't that smart."

"And we're all for education," the elder Hamada said softly. "That's why we need to talk to Yama."

Ralph was silent for a moment, then smirked. "I like you. Clever, intimidating, and to the point. A man after my own heart. You two wouldn't happen to be related, would you?"

Tadashi blinked once while Hiro froze, withdrawing a little bit and grabbing his brother's wrist before he did something he would regret.

"That's of no concern."

"It's just a question, little guy. You two look extremely similar, right down to the burn scars. You can't get much out of that," Ralph said with a shake of his head. "Is Eclipse your dad or something?"

"Yes," Tadashi said shortly, eyes narrowing. "Or something. We're going to see Yama now."

"Not without an escort, you're not." At this, Ralph gestured towards the complex and began walking. "I'll take you to him, but Glitch, you should know-Lil' Yama isn't one to let go of anger easily, and you can bet that pretty little bangle your brother's wearing-which probably isn't a bangle, and yes, I know he's your brother," he continued as if Hiro hadn't flinched. "That he's pissed. Get ready for a fight."

* * *

"How do you think he knew I was your brother?"

Hiro shrugged. "Well, you still only look about in your early 20s, and I'm obviously a teenager. It would have been wildly inappropriate for you to be my dad, and seeing as we're supposed to be good role models, it's unlikely that would have been the case."

Tadashi frowned. "But we could have been like, cousins or something. Or I might be your uncle."

"Nah, the resemblance is too great. Definitely immediate family."

"Fair enough."

Ralph had ushered them through the door, then left briefly to request an audience. He assured he'd be back shortly, and to be ready.

"He says you can come in."

Without waiting for another second, the brothers half ran through the door, half-expecting a shot to ring out, praying that this wouldn't be the case.

Instead, they hurried into a small concrete room, with a threadbare, yet comfy looking couch chair. Hiro glanced up at it's occupant, then felt his heart sink.

 _Oh._

 _Now I get it._

A small redhead slid out of the chair, his head tilting to the side. He briefly frowned, then shook his head, adjusting the bandage wrapped around it. "Glitch. I would say it's nice to see you, but…"

"Koji, you're…?"

"I never did tell you my last name, did I?" Koji laughed bitterly, fingertips wandering to a lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes, then pushing it away. "But then, you never told me yours, so I thought I would be mysterious and withhold some part of myself."

"You're Little Yama?"

"Yeah…" Koji sighed, sitting back down. "I don't associate myself with the last name much, seeing as it reminds people of my brother too much. And that's something I can live without."

Hiro blinked in surprise, then felt a pit open in his stomach. "Your… brother. Big Yama. He…"

"Yeah, he bit it. I would say good riddance, but-"

"You're not torn up about that?" Tadashi realized too late that he had interrupted, then immediately shut his mouth, suddenly embarrassed.

"Of course not," Koji snapped, eyes narrowing to slits. "I hated him. He was so prideful all the time. When mom and dad got killed during a drug deal, I got left with him for a legal guardian. He was hardly ever home, and whenever he was, he'd go on and on about how he was winning botfights for me, then go and spend half of the money on alcohol. I hated him," he reiterated, bringing his hands up to massage his eyelids. "And I'm glad I don't have to deal with him any more. Sucks being on my own, but it's better than having that guy as your legal guardian."

"We thought…" Hiro's voice faltered, then he continued. "I thought you might be Moru."

"Moru?" Koji blinked in surprise, then a chuckle rose in his throat. "No. Far from it."

"Ralph said you were ticked off at us."

Koji vaguely gestured to his forehead, laughing mirthlessly. "For this. Not for my brother. Which you had no hand in, obviously."

At this, Tadashi glanced away, suddenly self-conscious.

"...Unless…?"

Koji got out of his chair, walking towards the two brothers. " _Did_ you two have a hand in his death?"

Tadashi had never been a very good liar, and it became obvious to the young mob boss in a very short amount of time.

"You did, didn't you?"

"...I wasn't in my right state of mind."

Koji blinked, then slowly turned to the younger Hamada brother. "And you two had the audacity to come here."

"Koji-"

"You two are both real pieces of work, you know that, right?"

Hiro winced. "We know."

"Well,you have the information you need. I'm not your Moru, and I have the delightful little tidbit that Eclipse here is a murderer."

At this, Tadashi's gaze snapped back to the teenager.

"No worries, I'm not going to tell anyone. If anything, I owe you, but I'd suggest you keep your illegal activities on the down low and not murder anyone else. Out of curiosity, though-what'd the police officer do?"

Hiro didn't have time to hold his brother back before a knife had been pulled out of his boot- _How the hell did he sneak that by me I swear-_ and held to the teenager's neck.  
Koji's eyes immediately grew wide and he put his hands up to grab the older man's wrist. "Whoa, man take it-"

"Mention that again, and I'll kill you."

Hiro felt a shudder run down his back-not at the action of putting a knife to someone's throat-but because of the completely deadpan expression on Tadashi's face, the casual, conversational tone his voice took. "Nii-chan…"

"I swear, I won't mention it again."

The younger Hamada liked the thought that his voice had gotten to the elder, but he had a feeling that Koji's bargaining had mollified him. Tadashi quietly sheathed the knife,and turned his back. "Come on, _otouto._ We have places to be."

Hiro hesitated briefly, and in that second, Koji was at his side, hand tightly gripping his bad shoulder, breathing on his ear. "I trusted you, you know."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't exactly have a ton of friends, and it kind of hurt when the only guy my age who I thought I could trust turns out to be in the team that hates my kind of people. Killing my brother isn't that big of a deal," he murmured thoughtfully, then gently shoved him towards the door. "But admittedly, he was the only family I had. I'm not forgetting this."

"I don't expect you to."

" _Twilight!"_

Hiro winced, then took a step towards the door, pausing to look back.

Koji merely shrugged. "Go on. Your brother doesn't seem to happy. And he doesn't seem like someone you'd want to piss off."

"...Right," Hiro said softly, then stole out of the run-down apartment complex, something gnawing at his chest.

* * *

"You don't seem too happy, _otouto._ "

"Well, he was a friend of mine before we ruined his life."

Tadashi looked at him oddly, then shrugged. "He said himself that Yama's death was more a blessing than a curse."

"Yama as the only family he had, though."

"Is someone developing emotions?" The elder Hamada teasingly nudged Hiro in the shoulder-perhaps a bit harder than intended-but the tone was dead serious.

Hiro opted not to reply.

* * *

 _ **[And it's review time! Once again, I apologize for no headcanons here-it messed with the aesthetic too much, but I can probably post one or two from time to time if it's important!**_

 _ **Mr. M: I would love to, but unfortunately, I am simply a real person and therefore incapable of, as you put it, 'giving Tadashi a swift kick in the balls'. Also, because that would be incredibly painful and I am not one to hurt people through anything other than writing.**_

 _ **I would love to give Hiro a break, but unfortunately, the plot does not call for it. Thank you, though, for comment about character development! I considered Everwraith very briefly, but I couldn't think of a way to give Tadashi his powers. Everwraith seems almost omnipotent, and unfortunately I am unwilling to give Tadashi that power. He's Gary-Stuish as is.**_

 _ **I wish I could give you a bit of encouragement in terms of everything turning out alright... I guess I can give a bit of a tiny itty bitty spoiler here.**_

 _ **I laughed. That is all. I started laughing maniacally. I apologize if this is not what you wished.**_

 _ **BigHero6Fan D: I know-I myself am AroAce as well and tbh I hate writing romance. Especially with Hiro, he just**_

 _ **He's so sweet and cutesy and innocent**_

 _ **I can't put him through the horror that is romantic attraction**_

 _ **He is part of the team-I have made a few typos, it would seem. But yes, he is an official part of Big Hero 7. Tadashi wouldn't be able to let Hiro blindly run of to go and save people. "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME HIRO THEY HAVE GUNS"**_

 _ **"BUt-"**_

 _ **"NO BUTS I'M COMING WITH YOU."  
**_

 _ **I am flattered. uvu Thank you very much. If the movie were like the first story in the Shattered AU, I would also be flattered. I would, however, warn my mother not to let the kids watch. My little sister may or may not have a slight crush on Tadashi(I think), and I would hate for her to see her favorite character completely screwed up like I have done. *winces***_

 _ **Lady Cougar-Trombone: Haha, I personally love writing dark sides. I love writing dark stuff. I try humor, and I would like to think I am good at fluff, but darkness is where I am best.**_

 _ **I know-I personally would love Tadashi to be Ace, but tbh I couldn't ignore the romantic tension between Tadashi and Honey Lemon in the movie, and especially between Tadashi and Ms. Awesome(aka GoGo) in the last story. I nudged in a cute little moment at the end, and I couldn't just ignore that. xD**_

 _ **TheUltimateFangirl2020: Okay thanks *wipes away stress sweat* I suck at updating, especially when angsting out.**_

 _ **Thank you again, and I am pleased to inform you that I am much better. ;u; I hope to be updating more in the next month, but as I said before, November is a no-go.**_

 _ **You too? I'm also very much like that, and I hope I have pleased you with this chapter!**_

 _ **Tony18: I don't think he's going to go solo, I can't see him leaving Hiro alone like that. He's pissed off, but he isn't going to be getting to the point that he would just leave Hiro alone. His mother-hen instincts are too strong. He's not doing too well not solo, though, so regardless of whether he actually leaves or not...**_

 _ **Yeah, despite how she completely doesn't notice Hiro's suspicious behavior in the movie(which is rather odd, but hey, maybe she did notice but didn't want to break the magic spell that managed to get Hiro out of the house), I am very certain that although she isn't a genius like Hiro or Tadashi, her mind moves just as fast(if not faster than) as either of them. Less academics, more common sense/quick thinking/strategy. She doesn't take risks without weighing the benefits, and I can't see her doing anything dumb.**_

 _ **Everyone else: Thank you so much for reading! Please review if you liked this, or if you hated it and want to let me know, because I would like to think that I take criticism well. So punch that review button. Punch it. It's been insulting your mother, just PUNCH IT!**_

 _ **Anyhow, once again, thank you!**_

 ** _Oblivious out~! *flings self out of frame*]_**


	12. Just a Drop of Rain

_**[Hello. This is the captain of your feels. I have arrived to let you know that I sort of kind of REALLY suck. At updating, that is.**_

 _ **I am not consistent. Anyhow. You reviews are at the bottom, and if you missed the last update, once again, I post art for this AU on my tumblr-which you can find on my profile on here. Also, I suck at summaries. .o**_

 _ **I found so. Many. Songs. They all apply to this AU so much, but you wouldn't understand unless you knew the end of the story. So, most of my art recently has been feelerific and spoiler-y. That would be why.**_

 _ **I am kind of lightheaded right now, so if I don't make sense, that would be why.**_

 _ **Today's playlist song is 'Let it Burn' by Red. Morbid, I know. Don't ask.**_

* * *

 _"How long can you stand the pain?_

 _How long will you hide your face?_

 _How long will you be afraid-_

 _Are you afraid?_

 _How long will you play this game?_

 _Will you fight, or will you walk away?_

 _How long will you let it burn?_

 _...Is your world just a broken promise?_

 _Is your love just a drop of rain?_

 _Will you let me burn like fire?_

 _Are you still there?"_

 _-Let it Burn, Red_

* * *

"Are you okay?"

Hiro's head shot up at the sound of his brother's voice, then shook it to clear away the confusion. "I'm fine. Scout's Honor."

Tadashi grimaced in reply. "You're not a Scout."

"Right. That was you," Hiro remembered. "You were, like, King Nerd Scout."

"An Eagle Scout."

"Yeah, a Nerd Scout."

"I'm not a nerd, you're the nerd."

Hiro briefly considered arguing, then sighed. "You're right."

"You're _King_ Nerd," Tadashi elaborated, a smile tugging at his lips.

"And _you're_ my humble servant."

"I guess I had that coming."

Hiro merely chuckled in reply, leaning against his chair again before returning to his computer screen, a large rendition of his glove bright against his eyes.

"That didn't answer my question, though."

Slim fingers paused in their thrumming on the keyboard, then resumed. "I didn't hear a question."

"Are you okay? You seem upset."

"I'm not."

Russet eyes narrowed to almost slits. "Liar."

"Why would you think I'm lying?" A thick black eyebrow twitched heavenward. "I'm not a liar."

Tadashi merely blinked in reply, and Hiro sighed.

"For your information, I'm not lying. Just tired."

Tadashi seemed to accept this, and as such, the next few minutes passed in silence. The image swapped to a holographic as Hiro pressed a button, then zoomed in on one of the joints.

"Is it because of what happened with Koji?"

"I'm not upset, Tadashi."

"You are, though."

And in that moment, the urge to throw a wrench at Tadashi's head hit Hiro like a tidal wave.

"Well, I am now," he hissed. "Please shut up."

"See, you're upset."

 _He can't really be this stupid, can he?_

"Is it your time of the month, _otouto_?"

Hiro froze.

"I think we have some chocolate somewhere."

A small, slim hand reached for a wrench.

"I can go and get some for you."

"Tadashi?"

"Hm?"

"Shut up right now."

"I guess I shouldn't have mentioned hormones."

There was a brief, loud metallic clang as a wrench hit Tadashi's helmet, then an undignified yelp.

* * *

"Are you sure you're not upset?"

Tadashi was in full armor, hands in front of him defensively. He was managing to look simultaneously concerned for Hiro's and his own well being, and sporting a teasing expression. "I mean, you have been off lately."

" _I've_ been off?"

"Well, yeah," the elder Hamada replied, standing up straight as he noticed that Hiro wasn't near any wrenches. "You're throwing wrenches, and being quiet. It doesn't suit you."

Hiro glanced in his direction before returning to twirling his screwdriver, turning his glove from side to side. "Coming from the guy who has been whipping people and deciding to be the anti-hero again."

"They had a knife at your throat," Tadashi said with a frown, settling down on Hiro's bed. "Were there any other options?"

"Tadashi, if we just hurt the people who get in our way, we're no better than Callaghan."

The elder Hamada couldn't keep the snarl from escaping his throat. "I'm _nothing_ like Callaghan."

Hiro merely raised an eyebrow in reply.

"I'm not!"

"I don't want to get into a fight with you, Tadashi."

"You _are_ upset," he concluded, leering at his younger brother. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I just said."

"No, you compared me to a murderous scumbag, and that's no answer. Be honest, Hiro."

"I _said_ ," Hiro murmured, standing up, "that if we just hurt the people who get in our way, we're no better than Callaghan. You're lashing out at everyone, Tadashi-me especially. Something's been triggering you this entire mission, and it's not doing anything for your mental health. Which is why we tried to find Aunt Cass ourselves."

Tadashi stared at him in silence for a few moments, then let out a bark of mirthless laughter. "So, you're upset, because I'm not treating you like a little kid."

"That's not what I said at all!"

"It's implied," Tadashi replied, standing up as well. "This has nothing to do with my mental health. It's because for once, I'm treating you like the adult that you are, and you have a problem with it."

"I do, but that's not-"

"You _are_ seventeen, Hiro. I'm not going to talk to you like you're 12 anymore."

"My age has nothing to do with thi-"

"Then what _does_ it have to do with?"

Hiro felt himself withdraw somewhat as annoyance flared up in Tadashi's expression-with something darker than he couldn't place. "I don't want you to get yourself hurt again."

" _Myself?_ "

"I know you still have nightmares, Tadashi, even if you don't explicitly say that you do. The last time you let yourself fall this hard, you did several things I know you regret."

"You're afraid I'll hurt you again."

"That's not what I'm saying!" Frustrated tears pricked at Hiro's eyes, and he blinked them away. "I'm worried about you, _nii-chan._ "

"Don't worry so much. I'll be just fine. I'm not triggered," Tadashi muttered, sitting down again. "I don't like people hurting my family."

"Tadashi, the only one who's been hurt here is you. You're the one who's had barely any sleep, and your mental state is worse than it's been in-"

"You sound like Baymax," Tadashi chuckled. "How would you know my mental state?"

Hiro let out a long breath, shaking his head. "You know what? Just forget it. I don't care."

"No, you do. You sound like my mom, _otouto._ "

"Well, someone has to make sure you don't kill yourself." The younger Hamada forced himself not to roll his eyes, and sank into the chair by his desk.

"You know, you could _try_ to be normal sometimes."

He froze.

"...What?"

"Like, I get the whole prodigy thing. I get that you're more mature because of it, and because of what's happened… but you could attempt to be a human being."

Hiro's fingers curled around the screwdriver, clenching it tight to avoid letting them shake. "...I'm a human being. What-"

"I never said you weren't. But- God, Hiro. You're such a freak sometimes. Just… Loosen up, okay?"

 _Freak._

"Hiro, where are you-"

The door slammed shut behind the younger Hamada, and Tadashi stood up.

" _Hiro!"_

* * *

"I refuse to believe your brother actually said that."

Wasabi shook his head, then sighed. "Maybe before the mission, but now… I don't know."

"I refuse to believe it," Honey Lemon repeated. "Tadashi knows how you feel about that."

Hiro shrugged, pulling his legs closer into himself. "He's been off."

"Not so off that he's thoughtless," GoGo growled, entering the room. She handed the teenager a glass of water, then sat next to him. "This might help with the hiccups."

"Thanks… What do I do with it?" Another spasm gripped Hiro's throat, and he winced. "Just drink it?"

"Nope. What my mom had me do-here, you just try and chug, ten swallows."

"That sounds pretty simple," Hiro sniffed, chuckling softly. "Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"Because my mom's a jerk, and doesn't like to share her discoveries."

GoGo smiled at the laugh that resulted, then put her arm around her friend. "I knew I could get a smile out of you. Seriously, though, drink up."

After the water was gone, and the red blotchiness had begun to fade from the teenager's face, she gently clapped him on the back. "Feel better?"

"Yeah."

"Anything else we can do to help?" Honey Lemon's voice was soft, eyes wide with concern. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"...If I'm being honest, I'd really just like to go for a walk to clear my head."

"You should probably take Baymax with you," Fred responded, gently nudging his team mate in his good shoulder. "He's been looking lonely."

"Robots don't get lonely," Hiro said absentmindedly. However, as he left to explore Fred's yard, the team noticed a certain marshmallow man waddling behind him.

* * *

"...So, what are we going to do about Tadashi?"

GoGo glanced at the other female one the team, then grimaced. "I was thinking we make him wish he'd never been born."

"I thought you had a thing for him?"

"No one makes Shorty cry. No. One."

"Not even your boyfriend?"

GoGo looked up, and Fred took a step backwards, putting his hand on Honey's shoulder to steady himself.

 _That's a surprising amount of anger to come from one so small._

" _Especially_ my boyfriend."

* * *

 ** _[So: Tomadashi confirmed, Tadashi is being a buttface(my personal term that I use in order to avoid cursing around the kiddos), Hiro has been emotionally scarred, and I need sleep._**

 ** _Review time!_**

 ** _Lady Cougar-Trombone: I am aware of this. However- Nevermind. I don't want to spoil everything! I would have to do so in order to explain._**

 ** _Likewise. I take darkness far too casually. As for not trying to be mean... well... He certainly isn't trying to rein his temper in._**

 ** _I actually didn't plan it at first. Once again, the story has decided to yank the reins out of my hands. Curse my lotion for not giving me a better grip._**

 ** _Also, I think you probably saw this, but: It's my headcanon that Koji had a thing for Hiro. Especially after he found out who he was, he wouldn't be able to go after the Big Hero 7._**

 ** _Tears Fall: He looks a bit like Hiro's dad though! I mean, obviously not now that Hiro's so much older, and Tadashi hasn't changed much other than the obvious, but in the movie, Tadashi's voice made me think he was like 24 at LEAST. Probably older. And I originally thought Hiro was like 10. Then they said Hiro was 14 and Tadashi was 18, and my jaw almost hit the ground. "What do you mean, he's only a couple years older than me?!"_**

 ** _I will! You should, too. *leers at you*_**

 ** _Mr. M: I wouldn't call myself superior at ANYTHING. lol._**

 ** _Thank you so much! As for Marys... Well... I have not actually read the comic. *winces* I know a bit about it, like the main antagonist, the original members, etc. But I have no idea who Marys is. Sorry!_**

 ** _BigHero6Fan D: Thank you so much!_**

 ** _Well, in light of the new chapter, no, he is not trying very hard. *forces self to keep it together* Geez. What have I done to this precious cinnamon roll? ;A;_**

 ** _Thank you! I actually have plans this year. ;U;_**

 ** _DaydreamDepartment: Yes. Yama is back from the dead. He's a zombie._**

 ** _He realized that the Hamada brothers are dangerous creatures and must be exterminated, if his gang is to not go down in flames. I have planned a musical number down the line where he and Tadashi have an all out singing battle._**

 ** _They're singing Bad Blood._**

 ** _Bring popcorn and a large tomato._**

 ** _Tony18: It really is. No matter what happens, the Hamadas and Co. will never lose their snark._**

 ** _I did feel really bad for Koji, though. His life has kind of sucked. I wish I could have gone more in-depth, but one thing I have learned is that rabbit trails are not a thing to be going into. Maybe in a one-shot later._**

 ** _Hm... Maybe... You'll just have to wait and see! ;)_**

 ** _Everyone else: Thank you so much for reading, and putting up with my inconsistency crap! I hope to have satisfied your need for a new chapter with this new one, and it is my desire to actually move the plot along for once sometime this month! (I suck so much) Please review, and let me know how I did!_**

 ** _Oblivious Out~! *flings self out of frame*]_**


	13. If I Break the Glass, I'll Have to Fly

_**[Hello, my dearest readers! It's been a little while since my last chapter, and I'm afraid I'm going on another hiatus.**_

 _ **As you may know, NaNoWriMo is in 9 days. For those of you who do not know, NaNoWriMo is an international writing program-anyone 13 and above can make themselves an account, and the object of the program is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I have(shockingly) succeeded for the past two years, and hope to win again this year.**_

 _ **As a result, I won't have any time for writing any of my fanfictions. I'm really sorry, guys. I'm a sucky author. Dx**_

 _ **Anyhow, I got a lot of feedback over that last chapter, despite the fact that it really served no purpose other than to create emotional tension. SO. Here is my newest one, which actually has a bit of plot development. A very small bit.**_

 _ **Today's playlist song is 'Shatter Me' by Lindsey Sterling(AW YIS), featuring Lzzy Hale. If you have not heard this song before, GO LISTEN TO IT. It's amazing, my friends.**_

* * *

 _'If only the clockwork could speak, I wouldn't feel so alone_

 _We'll burn every magnet and spring, and spiral into the unknown..._

 _...If I break the glass, then I'll have to fly_

 _There's no one to catch me if I take a dive_

 _I'm scared of change and don't dare stay the same_

 _The world is spinning, but only in gray.'_

 _-Shatter Me, by Lindsey Sterling(Ft. Lzzy Hale)_

* * *

"Hiro, you appear… distressed."

"You could say that again, buddy." The teenager chuckled, gently nudging the marshmallow robot with his elbow, then hastily glancing in his direction to assure himself that Baymax had not, in fact, fallen over. "I'll get over it."

"You do not appear to be experiencing any hormone fluctuations," Baymax replied, head tilting to the side. "This implies that your distress is from an outside source. What is troubling you?"

Hiro paused briefly, fingertips gently tracing the brickwork of Fred's mansion, then shook his head. "Nothing important. I'm just… expecting too much, I guess."

"How so?"

The younger Hamada pulled his hand away from the wall, and shook his head. "I don't know. Tadashi's been doing so well, and I thought that he'd come back to us. But… I guess this is just another reminder of how he's changed."

"It is in my programming that behavior changes in individuals as they gain more experiences and grow older. Is this not the case?"

"N-o," Hiro said slowly. "That's still the same. I just thought that he might retain some semblance of his personality."

* * *

"We need to talk."

Tadashi winced, trying not to notice the anger evident in GoGo's voice. "You know, people generally say that kind of thing right before a breakup."

"And so it may be. Really?"

"Really what?"

GoGo sighed, then crossed the room, grabbing Tadashi's shoulder and spinning him-which was rather easy, considering that he was in a swivel chair-then stopped him as he faced her. "What is wrong with you?"

Tadashi considered smirking, then decided against it, as his girlfriend's glare was toxic enough as is. "You're going to have to be more specific. I mean, I have these scar things-"

"You know what I mean. Since when do you have the right to talk to your brother like that?"

"Like what?"

The twin rays of heat directed at Tadashi's head intensified, and he flinched. "You can't just call him a- You don't call _anyone_ a freak, Tadashi! Especially considering the fact that he feels freak-ish enough as is."

"He's an adult now, he can handle being spoken to like one," he mumbled, averting his gaze.

"Oh, so what you're saying is that just because he's an adult, he doesn't deserve to be spoken to civilly?"

"Being civil has nothing to do-"

"I've never heard you speak to any other adult like that, Hamada. This has nothing to do with Hiro's maturity," GoGo hissed, eyes narrowing to slits. "Why are you treating him like crap?"

"I'm not-"

"Why do you hate him?"

Tadashi's jaw almost hit the ground. "What gave you the impression that I hate him?! He's my _brother_ , GoGo-I couldn't hate him if I tried."

* * *

"I just… I get the impression that he doesn't want me around any more."

"Tadashi is your brother. He has made it clear on several occasions that he cares deeply for you. In my experience, when someone cares for a person, they want to keep them close," Baymax concluded.

"Well, yeah," Hiro admitted. "I just… He hasn't been acting like he cares. I mean, yeah, I get that he's upset about me botfighting again. I understand. But when he calls me a _freak_ , especially when he knows how much that hurts me…"

"Those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression are likely to act out."

"I know that," Hiro muttered, shaking his head. "But he's been doing so well lately. No, I don't think it's the PTSD. I think it's something else."

"Do you mean an outside source?" Baymax's head tilted to the side, taking in the teenager's vitals, more than a little concerned for his wellbeing. _Neurotransmitter levels: Low._

"Perhaps. More likely, something has been triggering him."

* * *

"He thinks you hate him," GoGo repeated, blinking in surprise. "You didn't know that?"

"I… Of course not."

"You pride yourself on being able to read him. What's going on in your head?"

Tadashi leaned forward, and GoGo shifted her weight to her heels in order to give him room to do so. "To be honest, I'm not sure."

"Do you think it might be the sleep deprivation?"

"It's definitely a part of it," the elder Hamada murmured, placing his elbows on his knees, letting out a long breath. "There's something else, though… I don't know why, but I think something's been triggering me this whole mission."

"So, your solution is to… _not_ try and talk about it, and emotionally abuse your brother to make it better?"

"I…"

"Tadashi, I think you know very well what's going on in your head," GoGo murmured, quirking an eyebrow. "But you don't want me to hear it. So, I'm going to give you a chance to amend what you just said. You have five seconds."

He frowned, then shook his head. "It's not that simple."

"Five."

"I'm not- It's not like I have a _choice-_ "

"Four."

"Do you honestly expect me to just tell you because you're counting down?"

GoGo chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "I could threaten to break up with you, but how about this: If you don't tell me, I'll come up with my own skewed reason, and give him that. Then he'll be _sure_ that you hate him."

At this, Tadashi's jaw all but hit the ground. "You wouldn't. GoGo, I know you too well. You wouldn't do anything to hurt Hiro."

"All you need to do is tell me, Tadashi."

"I don't-"

"Three."

"I don't negotiate with _terrorists_ , GoGo."

"Two."

He stood up, taking a step away. "I can't-"

"O-"

"I'm scared of losing him, okay?"

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

Tadashi hadn't realized that his chest was heaving until he started feeling lightheaded. "I…"

"Whoa. Calm down there." A hand steadied him, firmly gripping his shoulder. "Now, repeat that, and put it in context."

"I-I'm scared of losing him. And, I guess, I'm angry, because I might have already."

GoGo blinked once, deadpanning, then let go of him. She sat down in his swivel chair, then gestured to the bed nearby. "Sit. Explain."

Tadashi took a few more seconds to get his breath back and compose himself, then quietly went to do as she'd asked.

"Well?"

"He got a job offer."

"So?"

"From Krei."

GoGo tilted her head, not understanding. "It's a great opportunity."

In reply, Tadashi sighed softly. "He rejected it."

"...Oh."

The elder Hamada shook his head, pulling his legs up onto the mattress. "I guess… I guess it was just a reminder. The first one I've had in a while. My baby brother isn't a baby any more. He's an adult now-well, very close to one. He… He doesn't need me any more."

"Just because he can take care of himself doesn't mean he doesn't want you around any more, Tadashi. If anything, he needs you more than ever right now."

"He doesn't, though-he didn't reject the offer because he didn't want it. He rejected it for me," Tadashi whispered miserably. "He's scared of what will happen to me if he goes. I'm holding him back, and I can't let that happen."

"So, you want him to realize that there's nothing keeping him here-and you're angry at him for making you feel useless."

"I'm not-"

"Is that true?"

GoGo held his white-hot glare for a few moments, then he looked away, wincing. "In essentials: Yes."

"Even though it's your own fault for feeling that way."

"Yes." Tadashi squeezed his eyes shut, resting his head on his knees. "It's complicated."

"No, I understand." His girlfriend's arm found its way around his shoulders, something resembling a smile tugging at her lips. "I mean, it's a little dumb, considering that the last time Hiro thought he'd lost you, he went into a depression, tried to kill our previously favorite professor, then left us all on a creepy abandoned island."

"That was when he was 14," Tadashi pointed out, staring off into the distance.

"Yes, and that massive amount of time-three years, by the way-has really changed him, hasn't it? To the point that he's virtually unrecognizable?" GoGo shook her head, hugging him a bit tighter. "No, Tadashi, your brother hasn't changed a bit. He might be a bit more responsible now, but other than that, he's the same cocky kid with the obsession with gummy bears… and his big brother," she murmured softly. "He needs you. Please don't leave him, Tadashi-I don't think he can handle losing you a third time."

He tensed briefly, then relaxed as she leaned into him, gently tracing circles on his shoulder with her fingertip. "I didn't… You're right."

"Of course I'm right," GoGo replied abruptly, sitting up and getting off of the mattress. "I'm always right-I'm your girlfriend. Now go apologize."

Tadashi slowly nodded, shaking his head. "Okay. I-"

 _"Tadashi, sweetie?"_

The couple froze, the whipped around to stare at the computer screen that had come to life. "Aunt Cass?"

"Heya," the older woman chuckled. "I managed to nick Sakura's computer to send you guys a transmission. She'll be back any minute, so I need to make this quick."

GoGo glanced at him, then nodded. _Hiro can wait for another two minutes._

"What's up?"

"There's a meeting in an hour. Moru is going to be there."

Tadashi stood up even straighter, at attention. "So, we need to get to the meeting before he does."

"I'll send you the coordinates," Cass replied curtly, nodding. "I'd prefer it if you didn't cause a fight. Follow Moru home, then take him out while his guard is down." She looked at the screen, then noticed GoGo, only half in her line of sight. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?"

"No, no, you're fine, Aunt Cass," GoGo quickly stammered. "We're just talking about Hiro."

"He didn't get a tattoo, did he?"

Tadashi allowed himself a small grin, then shook his head. "Nope. He said he's saving that for when he's 18."

"God help us all. I hope the tattoo artist does a terrible job. Maybe then he'll learn a lesson."

"We'll see you there, Aunt Cass. Stay safe."

"You too, sweetie." The screen went black for a moment, then white as the transmission cut off, returning to Tadashi's screensaver. Which may or may not have been a picture of his little brother, sprawled across the couch, a sharpie mustache scrawled across his upper lip.

GoGo shot him a quick glance, _are you serious_ etched into every line of her face, then sighed. "I guess the apology can wait until afterwards. But you need to say you're sorry. He's been through just as much as you have."

"Of course."

* * *

"Tadashi has not been experiencing symptoms of PTSD, depression, or anxiety for months now. What could trigger him this long after his recovery?"

Hiro glanced up, then shook his head. "I really don't know. It could just be me, but…"

Baymax fell silent, noting that their walk was almost at an end. _Patient is experiencing low neurotransmitter levels. This is consistent with depression. Patient is not depressed. Diagnosis: Mood Swings. Common in adolescence. Patient is no longer an adolescent. Secondary Diagnosis: Hiro is upset. Administering treatment in three… two…_

"Your neurotransmitter levels are: low. You are experiencing mood swings, common in those possessing two X chromosomes, especially in nine-month periods between the ages of 12 and 50."

Hiro glanced at him, tilting his head to the side as he waited for a diagnosis, nose scrunched in confusion. _What does my Klinefelter's Syndrome have anything to do with mood swings?_ "What's that supposed to mean?"

"My diagnosis…" Baymax would have been holding back laughter, if a robot were capable of laughter. "Pregnancy."

" _What?!"_

* * *

 ** _[How funny would it be if this were possible? However, Mpreg is something I am not comfortable with writing, and so there you have it. Yes, Baymax is making a funny, and no, Hiro is not pregnant. Thank God._**

 ** _Anyhow, about the 2 X Chromosome joke..._**

 ** _-It is my headcanon that Hiro has Klinefelter's Syndrome, a genetic defect in men resulting in more feminine aspects-such as, more feminine facial features, less facial hair, more tissue on their cheat, a higher risk of breast cancer, more feminine bone structure(like, wider hips, more demure shoulders, different ribcage). It's caused by the sex genes being, rather than XY, XXY. Another prominent feature is greater height, but seeing as Hiro is not very tall, my other headcanon is that..._**

 ** _-Hiro found coffee at a very young age. He developed in terms of climbing very quickly, and as such, found Aunt Cass' instant espresso at age 5. He tasted it, decided it needed more sugar, and found the chocolate syrup-as well as a few of Aunt Cass' flavored syrups for coffee drinks. After mixing together instant espresso, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, and a good amount of marshmallow creme, Aunt Cass found him having downed several sippy cups of the concoction._**

 ** _As a result, he became addicted to caffeine at 5. He wouldn't go to school until Aunt Cass made him a triple shot of espresso, complete with two shots of flavored syrup. It actually helped him focus much better in class, and sometimes the brothers like to tease that the reason Hiro graduated so early is because the espresso sped up his brain development. Of course, this is not the case. It was the gummy bears, obviously. Anyhow, the constant sugar and caffeine addiction stunted his growth severely._**

 ** _So, that's it for my two headcanons... On to your reviews!_**

 ** _Mr. M: Okay, I started laughing so hard when I read your review. I already knew the bit about Marys, but I cannot write romance for my life-also, I can't see Hiro interacting romantically with anyone. Sorry-I felt kind of bad for Koji, though._**

 ** _You are killing me over here. I need to use that line on my own older brother... haha. As for a satisfying ending, well, it may not necessarily be entirely happy, but it will definitely be satisfying._**

 ** _BigHero6Fan D: Nope, he's really not. I feel like a jerk for my constantly torturing the poor Gummy Lord(my personal nickname for Hiro). I'm just like "Oh, you have your brother back! Except, not really... And now he's shooting at you! And he hates himself, so he's running away! And now you're in a fire! And a coma! Everythings fine now, but what if I have someone kidnap your Aunt? And now your friend hates/loves you! Your brother's being a jerk! And now everyone dies!" Okay, maybe not that last part, but poor Hiro. I'm a terrible person._**

 ** _Thank you so much, btw! *hugs*_**

 ** _Tears Fall: Sorry. DX And Thanks._**

 ** _Lady Cougar-Trombone: Mhm. I think it's less a 'being taught a lesson' and more 'What's up this isn't normal man do I need to slap sense into you or what'. Yeah, I'm thinking about doing a scene or two on Koji another time... He's an interesting character that I'd like to see more of._**

 ** _Mm, nope, just a walk. Thank you, by the way, for the support!_**

 ** _TheUltimateFangirl2020: Yep, it actually is Dashi's time of the month. xD_**

 ** _Well, I hope I satisfied your curiosity~!_**

 ** _Tony18: Yeah, although while I enjoy GoGo's 'no nonsense' personality, it doesn't seem to fit in this situation. If you know what cognitive functions are, I see a lot of Introverted Intuition in her, and she seems like she would know that this doesn't fit Tadashi. Which is another reason I like Tomadashi so much in this AU._**

 ** _You are so welcome-If you like Tomadashi shipfics, I actually know a really good one by... I don't know her name, dangit. Anyways, it's called Seven Days, and the author does a LOT of really good Tomadashi fics._**

 ** _Guest: Haha, yeah... I didn't hear about it until I was 13, and it changed my life. I get hiccups pretty often, unfortunately. Dx_**

 ** _Everyone Else: Thank you so much for reading! Please review, and let me know how I'm doing! I'm sorry for the lack of updates, and I hope you enjoyed!_**

 ** _Oblivious Out~! *throws self out of frame*]_**


	14. Feel the Fire Run Through Our Lungs

_**[I live!**_

 _ **No, but seriously. When was my last update? October? Has it really been 9 months? Talk about a hiatus. *blows dust off of story***_

 _ **[So... I won my writing contest, I am walking again(dunno if I told you guys that). I now have an Ao3 and DeviantArt account(username is DystopianEden for both). So now that I have most of those distractions out of the way for now, I have a few announcements and apologies to make.**_

 _ **The first: I am sorry that I have abandoned this story. I do not by any means wish to completely leave it be. I spent too much time figuring out the ending to leave it as is. So I return! With a much longer chapter. I am seriously so sorry. I have no idea how many people would still read this, but no matter! I write generally for my own pleasure and mine alone.**_

 _ **Second: I am no longer answering reviews. I apologize for this as well, but if I must answer every review in addition to my normal notes and such, I will not end up finishing as quickly as I would usually. I also just don't have the energy to go straight from writing to a Q &A session with each chapter.**_

 _ **So if you have a question, about the series, how I'm doing, anything, message me. You will definitely get an answer that way. I may answer some reviews if the question is urgent enough or if I feel like it, but don't expect much.**_

 _ **Third: I will be changing my user name to match my other accounts. The new pen name is DystopianEden.**_

 ** _And finally: As I write this story, I will also be editing the first one. I will not be posting the new chapter on Ao3 until everything else is edited, so that may be a bit of a delay. I still do not have any sort of schedule._**

 ** _Once again, I apologize, and I present you with chapter 14.]_**

* * *

 _'Keep on walking to the sound of the drums_

 _Feel the fire run through our lungs_

 _Find our treasure in the light of the sun_

 _And show the whole world who we are'_

 _-Unity, TheFatRat_

* * *

"Hiro, you are experiencing: Very mild shock. Have I alarmed you?"

"I… I think that's…"

"Shorty!"

Hiro blinked in surprise, then relief. "GoGo, could you please explain to Baymax how I could not possibly be pregnant?"

The woman froze in her tracks, staring at the robot in complete disbelief. "What."

"Apparently, mood swings can be a symptom of pregnancy, and seeing as I am so obviously male…"

GoGo reached up to massage the bridge of her nose. "Baymax…"

"Hiro, are you still upset?" The robot's head tilted to the side in curiosity, blinking once.

"I… No, not really," he admitted.

"Then the treatment has worked," Baymax confirmed, blinking in almost smugness. "It is in my programming to inform you that I have used the function: lie. You are in perfect health."

His hand immediately flew to his forehead, brushing raven strands of hair out of his face. "Thank God. The idea of me being pregnant is… terrifying."

"Hiro. You are literally a guy. It is physically impossible for you to be pregnant."

"Well…"

"Aunt Cass just transmitted, by the way. There's a thing."

"A thing?"

"A meeting," GoGo corrected, eyes narrowing as she promptly popped a bubble gum sphere between her teeth. "Moru is holding a meeting. Very important. Much evil. We need to be there."

"Like, on how he's going to murder us?"

"No, Hiro, on how they are funding the Girl Scouts and their scheme to take over the world via Thin Mints."

"Seems legit," Hiro mumbled, the corners of his lips quirking into a smile. "Is everyone else ready?"

"Just about," she confirmed. "Maybe you should put on your armor. You know. So that if we get caught, we don't end up getting shot and then killed."

"Well, how do you know that getting shot and killed isn't fun? You've never had that feeling. It's actually quite exhilarating. The adrenaline, the sensory overload, the sudden and swift feeling of 'Oh crap I shouldn't have done that', the massive amount of pain-"

"I think I'll pass. It doesn't sound too attuned to my tastes." GoGo stretched, her fingers interlocked behind her back, then placed a hand on Baymax's huggable exterior. "So. Armor. Meet at the… gazelle?"

"Gazebo."

"That thing. Yes."

Hiro rolled his eyes, popping the joints in his neck. "Got it. Gazebo. Armor. Don't get shot."

"That's right. Good job."

* * *

"Hiro. You are exhibiting confusion-may I be of assistance?"

Hiro frowned, leaning back against the table. "I don't know. I don't think so. I'm just thinking of whether I should take the microbots or not."

"It would be wise to bring a defense mechanism, so as to avoid being brutally murdered."

Hiro froze, turning slowly to stare at the robot quizzically. "That's… good to know."

"Living is good for your health," Baymax continued, moving ever closer, causing the teen to slowly back up. "As well as maintaining a healthy sense of humor."

"I would like to think that I am capable of both. So, that's the microbots… the sonix grenades?"

"That would be a good alternative to explosives," Baymax supplied helpfully. "The meeting starts in twenty minutes. We should be at the gazebo."

"Right," Hiro murmured, rolling his shoulders back and wincing as one popped awkwardly. "Give me a few seconds, I just…" He blinked, grabbing Baymax's arm to steady himself, then leaned into him as lightheadedness took over for a moment. "Whoa there. Suddenly got dizzy."

"Hiro, your glucose levels are low. My diagnosis: lack of nutrition. Hiro, when was the last time you ate?"

He frowned, shrugging slightly and jerking his bad shoulder to wake himself up somewhat. "I don't know. Yesterday at lunch? I think? I mean, I wasn't hungry at dinner, so-"

"Hiro, it is 6 in the afternoon. It has been more than 24 hours since your last meal. I suggest resting, and replenishing your energy levels by eating."

"I'm _fine,_ I just-"

The door to the garage opened, cutting off whatever Hiro may have been about to say. It clanked against the ceiling, and the sound of metal-shod, slightly awkward footsteps filled the room. "What's going on here?"

Hiro's blood ran cold, and he carefully looked over Baymax's shoulder…? Concerned russet eyes looked him over, and a hand gently pushed Baymax's arm out of the way.

"Hiro is experiencing low blood sugar, and has told me that he has not eaten since yesterday at lunch. I cannot allow him to leave on this mission unless he is at full health."

Tadashi's gaze flickered between the two. "Why haven't you been eating?"

"Slipped my mind," he muttered, shrugging. "Baymax, I'm fine."

"Hiro, your blood sugar dropped, causing dizziness and loss of balance only moments ago. If this happened during flight, or in the middle of a violent disagreement, the consequences would be dire."

"He's right, _otouto_. You're not going."

"You're not my parent," Hiro retorted, eyes narrowing to slits. "I can do what I want, and I'm helping."

Tadashi chose to ignore the first comment, leaning over a bit to get at eye level with his brother. "The only thing you'd be doing is getting in the way. I know you think it's some sort of self sacrifice on your part, but the truth is, you can't help anyone if you're dead."

"Can't really help much alive either, but that has less to do with my blood sugar levels and more to do with being a _freak_ ," Hiro spat. "Doesn't it?"

Tadashi's eyes grew wide, then he let out a soft sigh. "Hiro, I-"

"Save it," Hiro muttered, turning and pulling Baymax along as support to the door into the house. "I'll stay here, if it's that important to you, just… Try to act like a decent human being in the future, got it?"

"Hiro, I'm so-"

"The neurotransmitter is on the desk, in the corner, and I think there are a few sonix grenades in the drawer. Baymax will probably be out in a moment," he finished, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Hiro. Your heart rate has elevated drastically."

"I just don't really want to talk to him. It's not-"

"Hiro, your symptoms are indicative of a panic attack. Is Tadashi a trigger for you?"

Hiro jumped slightly, shifting from one foot to the other, cracking his bad shoulder and wincing at the motion. "I… No, not Tadashi specifically. Well, yes, right now. At the moment, I would call Tadashi a trigger. But…"

"What do you think is the cause of your panic attacks?"

"Dismissal," Hiro replied, not even blinking. "And lack of respect. Although, I think it's less triggering than hurtful. But the fact that Tadashi is the one hurting me would probably be the cause. We've already crossed the line of inflicting pain towards each other, but at least it's previously been unintentional. He just doesn't care any more."

"Tadashi has shown great care for you in the past, even developing suicidal tendencies when he discovered he was causing you harm. The probabilities of him becoming emotionally abusive towards you without a triggering event could very well be almost zero, if not zero."

"I mean, yeah, I guess there's probably a reason. It's not a good reason, whatever it is, but it's a reason."

Baymax's head tilted to the side. "Due to previous information gathered, it is my experience that when Tadashi acts like this, he believes that he is acting in your own best interests. This is a result of the events three years ago."

"Well, then he's an idiot."

"That does not seem like a term he would appreciate very much, Hiro."

"That's… kind of the point, Baymax."

Disregarding his response, the healthcare companion blinked slowly. "Why do you feel uncertainty towards his intelligence?"

"You mean, why do I think he's an idiot?"

"If that is the term you wish to use."

Hiro snorted, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in simultaneous amusement and irritation.. "Because he has no idea what's best for me."

Baymax was silent for a few moments, then gently guided the teen to the kitchen as his programming began to build a response. As the floor went from wood to tile and they entered a large dining room, he brought Hiro to the table and pulled out a chair.

"I think I can handle it from here, buddy."

"You are correct."

Hiro blinked in surprise. "That I can make myself a sandwich?"

"No. Tadashi does not know what your best interests are. As such, he is not likely to be a very good caretaker at this time."

Hiro tilted his head, a grin breaking across his face. "So, you agree with me. I should be allowed to make my own decisions."

"This is also incorrect," Baymax amended. "Considering your recent parasuicidal tendencies, your-"

"My what?"

"Parasuicidal tendencies," the robot explained. "To put yourself at risk, to make an attempt on one's life or harm oneself. Not by directly attempting suicide or actively physically harming oneself, but in the act of denying oneself safety, putting oneself at risk, purposefully causing oneself discomfort, pain, fear, or anxiety. Parasuicidal tendencies also include leaving one's safety and wellbeing to chance, purposefully placing oneself in harm's way but not directly causing said harm."

"You think I'm suicidal?"

"To a degree, yes."

" That's…. That's not true, though."

If a robot could have frowned, Hiro was positive his best friend would have done so, and he began to shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Not to the extent you consider suicidal. However, any form of intentional harm to one's body, mind, or psyche, be the harm having actually been inflicted or not, is considered to be self harm."

"I haven't been-"

"Your eating habits, not only today, but over the past few weeks have been increasingly unhealthy."

"I-"

"You seem to be more and more willing to put yourself in harmful situations as of late."

"That's just-"

"Your neurotransmitter levels are alarmingly low."

"I'm not suicidal."

"You have continuously been stimulating your injured shoulder in order to cause pain, have forgotten to do your physical therapy exercises for several weeks, and have not been taking your prescriptions," Baymax said as gently as a monotonous robot could.

"Baymax…"

"Hiro, when was the last time you took a shower?"

Hiro leaned back, taking in the tall nurse-robot. "I'm not suicidal."

"When was the last time you slept at least 6 hours?"

Hiro opened his mouth to reply, then slowly shut it as the healthcare companion continued. "When was the last time you spent more than 5 hours between anxiety attacks? When was the last time you consumed anything more than 300 calories at one time? How long has it been since you engaged in any physical activity for the purpose of fitness? When did you last change your clothing?"

There was silence as Baymax finished talking, waiting for a reply, some answer, a breakdown.

Hiro was silent, gently twirling one of the strings of his hoodie. His fingertips twitched with the intense beating of his heart that Baymax could tell meant an anxiety attack.

"Hiro."

"...I'm… I'm fine…"

"No, Hiro. You are putting your health at risk."

The teen took a shuddering breath, and pulled his legs up into the roomy chair to rest his head on. "Why should I try to fix it, though? Why would it matter?"

"Because Tadashi needs you."

"...No," he murmured, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around his knees. "He doesn't."

"You are in a state of depression and anxiety. With due respect, Hiro, You are not in a condition to decide what other people do and do not need."

This said, Baymax stepped forward, wrapping his arms around his friend's still form, gently patting the top of his head.

"I will go and prepare some form of nutrition."

Hiro remained silent.

* * *

Tadashi supposed that something must have started the apocalypse what with how long they were taking, but decided not to mention this when Baymax finally returned.

"Hiro will be all right. Judging by my scans, it is my belief that the nutrition currently provided to him will have him at full strength within the next hour. However, considering the time frame of the meeting, he will not be joining us."

The elder Hamada nodded briefly. "Do you think he's going to be all right… you know… in the long run?"

The robot blinked. "There is no doubt that with proper treatment, and perhaps more affirmation from you than usual, Hiro should return to his old self. Do not worry."

This said, Baymax began picking up his armor and putting it on, having become acquainted with his balance drives enough to do it on his own. Leaving the healthcare companion to his work, Tadashi let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

 _Well. There's that out of the way._

He slung his bag over his shoulder, calling to mind the hockey mask that he had worn to the Hub and wondering if he would be recognizable in the same getup.

 _Probably. Maybe I should just stay out of sight and let the others mingle._

"Hamada, have you two sorted things out yet? We're getting ready to leave."

Tadashi forced back a smirk and stood up straight to reply to his girlfriend. "Hold on, _mom,_ I'm just getting some sonix grenades."

GoGo skated smoothly into the garage, skidding to a halt beside him. "Where's Hiro?"

"He hasn't eaten since yesterday and almost passed out. Baymax made him stay home."

"Which is probably a good idea." GoGo paused, flicking her wrist to call a disc from the work station to her. "Your brother has a thing for disregarding his own safety, huh?"

"Runs in the family, I guess."

"You guys have a problem," she muttered softly, rolling her shoulders back. "Anything else you need to get?"

"I don't think so," Tadashi replied. "I'm ready."

"You sure?"

"As I'll ever be."


End file.
